My Hidden Past
by BrittLovesSan
Summary: Brittany is living in Los Angeles and co-owns a music and choreography company. Her business partner runs the music side of things and Brittany is in charge of the dance and choreography side. However what happens when her business partner leaves and a new one comes along in the name of Santana Lopez who also happens to be a big part of Brittany's past.
1. Business Partners

My Hidden Past

Chapter 1: Business Partners

"Brittany can Jackson see you in his office for a minute, he wants you to go there right away" her assistant George says talking about her business partner and co-owner of the business.

"It sounds very serious, did I do something wrong?" she jokes.

"I'm not sure, he seems very serious when he asked me to go and get you" George replies. "I'm sure you didn't do anything wrong though" George smiles while placing his hand on Brittany's shoulder to reassure her. However the hand placement lasts a little too long for Brittany's liking.

"Um…George, do you mind?" she asks.

"Sorry Brittany" he smiles again at her. Ever since Brittany hired him as her assistant, he has seemed to take quite a shine to her and even developed a small crush on her. He knows though that Brittany wouldn't be interested in him because she made it very clear at the beginning that she would never involve her personal life with her professional life.

"I should go now and speak to Jackson but if you could stay here and continue to sort out my schedule for next week then that would be great" Brittany smiles.

"Um…sure Brittany but shouldn't I maybe come with you to speak to Jackson just in case it involves your schedule or something?" George asks.

"If I need you then I'll get someone to come and get you but thanks anyway" she smiles, grateful that George is so dedicated to his job.

"Ok Brittany" he smiles before going back to do his work. Brittany then heads to Jackson's office to talk to him.

"Hey you wanted to see me" Brittany says hesitantly after she knocks on the open door.

"I did, in you come" Jackson replies. "It's something big and possibly life changing" he states.

"Ok…" Brittany says confused. "Like I told George, it sounds very serious so I hope I haven't done something to screw up the business or something" she says. They've been in business for a few years together except they've only just became a bigger success after Brittany choreographed a music video for a major music artist. If it wasn't for the success of the video then the company wouldn't be as successful so the success basically rides on Brittany and her talent.

"It is serious but it's nothing you've done so don't worry" Jackson smiles. "Have a seat though" he says pointing to the empty chair.

"Ok so what's going on?" Brittany asks as she sits down.

"I've asked Michelle to marry me and she said yes" Jackson replies.

"Oh my god, that's fantastic" Brittany says excitedly while getting up and going over to hug Jackson.

"That's not all though" Jackson points out. "Because we are going to get married then we want to live together eventually and have children so for that to happen then we're going to need to be based in the same place and not have a long distance relationship anymore."

"Yeah I understand" Brittany nods. "So is Michelle moving here to LA?"

"Not exactly" Jackson replies.

"What do you mean?" Brittany asks.

"I'm moving to Florida to live with her and I'll be working there" Jackson states.

"Wow, that's going to be tough for you" Brittany says. "Are you just going to get someone in to manage your side of the business here and come here monthly or something to check on things? I mean I'm guessing you're going to be working for Michelle's dad but I don't suppose you want to lose your business either."

"Um…Brittany, I'm selling my share of the company" Jackson replies.

"You're what!" Brittany asks shocked. She did not expect Jackson to say that at all. She just assumed he would hire someone to run his share of the company and he'd come back every so often to check on things. It would be a lot to move away to be with the person you love so she thought he couldn't just get rid of the company so figured he'd help out with his father in law's business while keeping a hold of his company since that was his dream. Brittany would give up things to be with the person she loves but she never thought she could give up her career entirely.

"I know it seems like I'm giving up on my dream but I've realised lately that it was never actually my dream. I just thought it was but I now know that my dream is to be with the woman I love and start an amazing life with her" Jackson says.

"Let me get this straight, you want to stop producing records and start giving out surf lessons?" Brittany asks and Jackson nods. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Ok so maybe working for Michelle's dad isn't my ultimate career goal but while I find out what I want to do then I am going to be working for him" Jackson states.

"I don't understand, you love producing music" Brittany says.

"Brittany this company is only afloat because of you and let's be honest you can see I'm losing interest in the business" Jackson says.

"There are ways you could make this work without having to give up your share of the business. Like I say you could just hire someone to manage everything and work on the majority of the financial side of things back in Florida and just come here every once a month to check on the day to day running" Brittany suggests.

"You're not getting my point Brittany, this isn't my dream anymore. I don't want to be with the company anymore" Jackson replies.

"Ok so how long have you felt like this?" Brittany asks.

"Well for the last year or so I've been thinking that…"

"Year?" Brittany questions. "You haven't been interested in the business for a year and you think it's ok to just tell me now?" she asks.

"I've been having some doubts about what I wanted and if this was the right thing so I didn't want to say anything until I was completely sure that I didn't want to be involved in the business anymore" Jackson replies.

"I'm beginning to wonder now that perhaps our lack of success in the beginning as a company was to do with you. You should have told me if you didn't think things were working out instead of putting the business in jeopardy" Brittany says beginning to get slightly angry. She has put her whole life into building this company and making sure her department ran the best it could only to be told that her business partner has lost interest.

"I know but…"

"Sorry to interrupt but you have to be leaving now Brittany, remember you have dinner plans with your husband tonight" George says interrupting them.

"Must you do that George, I'm sure I've told you before to knock before you ever come in here" Jackson says annoyed.

"Excuse me don't speak to my assistant like that. I'm the one who says how George can and can't operate in this company and if I am scheduled to be elsewhere then it is his job to come and let me know" Brittany states. "Thank you George for reminding me" she says while smiling over to George.

"Shall we talk more tomorrow then?" Jackson asks.

"I think that would be wise" Brittany says while standing up from her seat. "I'll come to your office at 9am tomorrow and we can discuss things" she suggests.

"9am sounds good, see you tomorrow Brittany" Jackson replies.

"Yep, you will" Brittany says making her way to the door. "Happy 5th wedding anniversary Brittany" she sighs to herself as she leaves.

"Wait, it's your anniversary today?" Jackson asks.

"It is and now instead of enjoying dinner with my husband, I'm going to be thinking of what happened today and worrying how the hell all of this can be fixed" Brittany responds.

"Don't worry, I will sort it so that you're not left in the lurch" Jackson reassures her.

"I'm sure you will" Brittany replies sarcastically before finally leaving.

* * *

Santana Lopez has been working for one of the best music producers there is in California for some time now and she has managed to save up a lot of her money to finally build her own dream of becoming a music producer herself. She spent years trying to raise as much money as she could by assisting the music producer she works for and now she finally feels it's the best time to move on and actually put the dream into action. Realistically though she could never open her own record producing company all by herself so she was looking to go into business with someone when luck would have it, her dad put her in contact with Jackson Steele who was looking to sell his share of his company.

"I can't believe you're finally going to get to be your own boss" her best friend Quinn states.

"I know, me neither" Santana smiles happily. "I mean what are the chances, I leave my current job one day and suddenly the next day my dad is on the phone telling me about a friend of his son who wants to sell his business" she says not being able to believe how quickly things happened and how perfect it all is.

"So what is the deal with the business?" Quinn asks.

"Well Jackson and his friend Bethany run a business together where one side of the business focuses on record producing and the other side focuses on dance and choreography. I didn't actually get to find out much about Bethany's side of things but Jackson told me all about his share and how he runs things. There are a few things I would change but I'm not going to tell him that right now and risk him backing out of the sale" Santana replies.

"I see" Quinn nods.

"It feels so real now that I'm starting to unpack after my big move. Initially when Jackson accepted my offer I was ecstatic but nothing really sank in until I began unpacking all my stuff. I have just left and moved to LA, that's not going to be just a car ride away from you anymore" Santana says.

"I know but this is your dream so you should do this" Quinn points out.

"I know but I'm just saying I'm going to miss you, is that such a crime?" Santana asks.

"Of course not and I'll miss you to but if we don't hurry up unpacking then nothing will be ready before you start your new job" Quinn states.

"That's true" Santana says laughing at the thought.

"I was actually thinking that maybe I could stay here with you over the weekend and help you get settled into your new apartment" Quinn suggests. "My boss has gave me a few extra days off work to help you as long as I work a few extra later in the month to pay back the time I'm missing" she says.

"That would be great Quinn because I don't know if I could do all this myself" Santana smiles, grateful for Quinn's help.

"So when do you finally start at the company?" Quinn asks.

"As soon as the sale goes through then it's mine which my lawyer said could be in less than a week, how cool is that?" Santana says excited about starting her new job.

"Yeah that is pretty cool Santana" Quinn smiles.

* * *

"I'm so sorry I'm late to dinner, I had some major stuff to deal with at work" Brittany says while taking a seat at the table across from her husband Christian in the restaurant.

"That's ok babe, you're here now" Christian replies while leaning over to kiss Brittany. "Happy 5th anniversary by the way" he smiles.

"Right back at you" Brittany smiles back.

"The gift I got you is a little too big to bring to the restaurant so you'll see it when we get home" Christian tells Brittany as he holds her hand over the table.

"That's cool, your gift is still at home too" Brittany replies. "So have you ordered yet?" she asks.

"I have and I've ordered for both of us so don't worry" Christian tells her while squeezing her hand. "In fact I think that is the food coming now" he says as the waiter is walking over to them with their food. As soon as the waiter places their food down, he leaves and Brittany and Christian begin eating.

"So how has your day been?" Brittany asks as she takes a mouthful of food.

"Yeah it's been good, I got quite a few sales today so I really think I'm going to be in the running for the best car salesman at work this month" Christian smiles in response.

"That's fantastic babe" Brittany smiles back.

"What about you, how has your day been, you said something about a crisis didn't you?"

"Yeah something like that" Brittany sighs.

"If you don't want to talk about it right now then we can talk later and just enjoy the meal just now" Christian tells her.

"No I don't mind talking about it, I mean it might actually help to get someone's opinion on it" Brittany says.

"Ok well shoot, tell me what's up" Christina says.

"Jackson is leaving the business, he wants to sell his share of the company" Brittany answers.

"Oh my god, are you serious?" Christian asks for clarification and Brittany nods. "I mean why would he do that?"

"Because he and Michelle are engaged now so he's moving to Florida to be with her" Brittany replies.

"Ok but why does he have to sell his share, can't he just get someone to manage it for him?" Christian asks.

"That's what I said but then he told me that he's lost interest in the business and it's not his dream anymore" Brittany tells him.

"I'm shocked by that, I never thought you were going to say that when you said you had a crisis" Christian states.

"I'm kinda floored by the news myself, I mean I could tell by his voice that he had some big news to tell me but I never thought that it was going to be about leaving the company" Brittany says still confused as why Jackson would want to leave.

"So what happens now?" Christian asks.

"I have no idea but I'm telling you babe, if he doesn't find a suitable replacement and the person who he sells it to turns out to be a complete ass then I can just wave my half of the business goodbye" Brittany says annoyed.

"Wait a second, I have an idea" Christian says while sitting up properly in his chair. "Why don't you buy him out and that way the entire company will be just yours?" he suggests.

"Yeah like I could do that" Brittany says laughing off the idea.

"Honey I'm serious. You could buy him out and therefore you don't need to worry about a replacement for him because it's going to be all yours" he states.

"With what money Christian?" Brittany asks.

"We can come up with a way but don't you think it would be really good to own the whole company?" Christian asks.

"I mean of course that would be amazing but it's just not possible Christian" Brittany replies.

"Honey we could get you a loan from the bank or your parents or even my parents" Christian suggests.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, I mean the banks don't just give loans to anyone and I'd feel embarrassed asking either my parents or your parents for money. All I have ever worked for I've gotten and that was because of me, not because I borrowed my parent's money" Brittany says.

"I know you like to be independent but your parents would be more than happy to help you, I'm sure of it" Christian states.

"Hmm…I don't know if this would be a good idea" Brittany says unsure.

"Honestly I really think this could be something good, it's worth a chance is it not?" Christian asks.

"Well…"

"You can always pay them back once you get the money. I've said it myself before, you made that company so you have every right to buy Jackson out and make it even more of a success" Christian says.

"Do you know what, you're right? I have worked my ass off to put us on the map so I'm not about to let it go downhill again just because Jackson wants to leave. I'm going to do this babe" Brittany states happily.

"I'm so happy for you babe" Christian says before leaning over the table to kiss Brittany.

"Thank you so much" Brittany smiles.

"Why are you thanking me?" Christian asks while smiling back.

"You have faith in me and you're willing to support me through anything so thank you" Brittany says genuinely.

"You're welcome babe" Christian smiles. "Although I'm not just doing this because you're my wife, I'm doing this because I know you can do this and you're a great businesswoman" he tells Brittany.

* * *

It's the next day and Brittany is heading to Jackson's office to tell him the good news. She can't wait to tell him that he doesn't need to worry about the business because she's willing to buy him out. I mean its win-win for everyone because it saves Jackson the stress of finding a new partner for Brittany and it saves Brittany the stress from having to work with someone new after finally just getting the business on track.

"Morning Jackson" Brittany says cheerfully as she walks into Jackson's office.

"Good morning Brittany" Jackson replies while smiling back. "You're very chipper this morning Brittany, did Christian get you something great for your anniversary" he asks.

"Christian did but that's not why I'm so happy" Brittany replies still smiling as brightly as before.

"Ok so what has made you so happy?" Jackson asks.

"I know a way where we can sort out all of this mess without anyone getting hurt or having to get used to someone new" Brittany replies.

"I don't understand" Jackson says confused.

"I'm going to buy you out of the business therefore you don't need to find a new buyer for your share" Brittany states.

"Um…Brittany, I think you misunderstood what I meant" Jackson says hesitantly. "I'm afraid I've already found someone to sell my half of the business to and as soon as things are all complete and the lawyers have dealt with everything then I'm gone" he adds.

"You've already sold your half?" Brittany asks shocked, the smile she has had on her face all morning has suddenly disappeared.

"Yes but don't worry you're going to love her. In fact she is coming by in an hour to sort a few things and I'll get her up to speed with the business" Jackson says.

"An hour?" Brittany states. "You've really not given me a lot of time to process things before bringing in someone new."

"I know it's all so fast but the sooner I wrap things up here; the sooner I can finally be with my fiancée" Jackson replies.

"Yeah fast is an understatement, I haven't even known about this for 24 hours yet" Brittany says.

"Look how about I come and get you once she's here and you can meet her, like I say I think you're going to love her" Jackson says.

"Fine, whatever" Brittany sighs. "I'll be in my office" she says before walking away.

As mentioned, an hour later Santana stops by to talk to Jackson about the business. They have been talking for about forty-five minutes now and Santana is eager to meet her new business partner. The way Jackson talks so highly about her does reassure Santana a bit that she has made the right decision in buying him out. However she is also slightly worried that Jackson is just trying to keep her sweet at the moment because he really does want out of the business and fast.

"So are you ready to meet Brittany?" Jackson asks.

"Brittany? Who's Brittany?" Santana asks confused.

"Your new business partner, I have just been talking about her for the last forty minutes or so" Jackson replies.

"Oh" Santana laughs. "I totally thought her name was Bethany. You should probably check the documentation you sent me because it all says Bethany."

"No it's Brittany Smith but I will get onto that as soon as possible" Jackson reassures her.

"Ok I hope you don't mind me asking this but you haven't cut any corners to get the sale through quicker, have you?" Santana asks.

"Of course not" Jackson replies.

"So why have you never double checked everything you have sent me, up until two seconds ago I believed I was going to be working with someone called Bethany not Brittany" Santana replies.

"Honestly Santana, it's just one mistake that has been pasted onto all of the documents. I mean Brittany and Bethany are pretty similar names so I can assure you everything has strictly been above board" Jackson replies.

"Ok good" Santana nods.

"I am desperate though to get things moving but that's only because I can't wait to finally get to be with my fiancée. We have lived apart for so long now that I'm done with LA and I just want to move on and be with her" Jackson smiles.

"That's understandable, I mean you're clearly in love so you don't want anything else to get in the way of that especially not because of a career or a long distance thing" Santana says.

"Oh have you done long distance before?" Jackson asks.

"No but I did screw everything up with someone I really loved so if I could I would turn back time and undo the mess I made" Santana shrugs.

"Ok so shall I go and get your new business partner for you to meet her?" Jackson asks.

"Yes, I would love that" Santana smiles.

"Just wait here and I'll be back in two minutes" Jackson says before hurrying along the corridor to get Brittany. As soon as he gets her, they come straight back to the office. "Ok this is your new partner Brittany smith and Brittany, this is your new partner Santana Lopez" he smiles just as Santana turns around and when she does, her face drops in shock.

"Oh…shit…eh" Brittany says equally as shocked.

"Oh my god, Brittany P…"

"Nice to meet you Ms Lopez" Brittany says holding out her hand pretending she doesn't know the person standing in front of her.

"Yeah…um…yeah you too Brittany" Santana says shaking Brittany's hand. She has no clue why Brittany is pretending she doesn't know her because of course they know one another, it's very unlikely that they've managed to forget about one another or the past they have together.

* * *

This is just an idea for a new story I've had so let me know what you think and if you think it has potential.


	2. First Day

Chapter 2: First Day

"Santana this is your new partner Brittany smith and Brittany, this is your new partner Santana Lopez" Jackson smiles just as Santana turns around and when she does, her face drops in shock.

"Oh…shit…eh" Brittany says equally as shocked.

"Oh my god, Brittany P…"

"Nice to meet you Ms Lopez" Brittany says holding out her hand pretending she doesn't know the person standing in front of her.

"Yeah…um…yeah you too Brittany" Santana says shaking Brittany's hand. She has no clue why Brittany is pretending she doesn't know her because of course they know one another, it's very unlikely that they've managed to forget about one another or the past they have together.

"I bet you two can't wait to get started working together" Jackson smiles.

"Oh yeah, I cannot contain myself" Brittany says sarcastically rolling her eyes. Santana just glares at her immaturity.

"So…" Jackson says hesitantly when silence fills the room.

"Yep…" Santana says looking around.

"This isn't awkward is it?" Brittany says earning another glare from Santana.

"Actually I have a phone call that I need to make quickly but I do want to go over a few other things with you Santana. How about Brittany shows you around her office and I'll come and find you once I'm done with the call" Jackson suggests.

"Oh I'm sure Santana doesn't want to see my boring office" Brittany states. "Plus if you have a phone call to make then it's probably about the business so maybe Santana should be here with you anyway."

"Um…I was actually just going to call Michelle about something so I doubt Santana wants to hear that" Jackson replies.

"Let me get this straight, you have lied to me for a year, you went behind my back and found someone to sell your half of the business to, you were rude to my assistant, you were one step away from ruining our business and now you're about to make a personal phone call right in the middle of an important discussion. Seriously what planet are you on Jackson?" Brittany asks annoyed.

"But I need to speak to Michelle about when I can get all my things moved over to her place" Jackson says.

"Well you can do that on your own time because you might want to let this business go downhill but I most certainly don't so I don't have time to be showing people around my office when they don't even need to see my office. My department is mine and no one will tell me how to run it" Brittany states.

"Brittany I don't think Jackson meant that, I think he just wanted a moment to call his fiancée" Santana says.

"Oh I know what he wants but it's not going to happen. You don't just spring something like leaving the company on me the day before and then expect me to be ok with you taking time off to chat to your girlfriend, Jackson. This is a professional company so how about we start acting more professional" Brittany says angrily.

"No Brittany I…"

"You what?" Brittany interjects. "What gives you…?"

"Hold on a second…" Santana says trying to get everyone to be quiet. "You only told Brittany about leaving yesterday?" she asks to clarify.

"Yes it's not been even 24 hours yet and he didn't even think to ask me to buy him out" Brittany states angrily.

"We've been discussing this for a while now Jackson and you told me Brittany didn't want to buy you out" Santana says confused.

"How long have you two been going over things?" Brittany asks.

"I had a meeting with Jackson about a month ago and he seemed really keen to get things moving so a week or so later once I thought about it and went over some figures I gave him an offer" Santana replies.

"A month ago, wow that's real nice Jackson. I have been in the dark about my own company for a month" Brittany states getting slightly frustrated. "Let me guess, it was the week I was on vacation?"

"I didn't do it deliberately but yes you were on vacation the week that Santana came for a meeting" Jackson replies.

"Look I'm leaving now because this whole charade is ridiculous" Brittany says while working towards the door.

"Wait I'll come with you" Santana says following her.

"No matter what I say Jackson will do his own things anyway so I don't suppose you will want to hear the conversation between him and Michelle" Brittany says.

"Exactly" Santana smiles.

"Brittany I didn't mean to hurt you if I did, I just wanted…"

"Save it Jackson" Brittany waves it off before quickly leaving with Santana hot on her heels.

"So…long time no see right?" Santana smiles as they walk into Brittany's office.

"It certainly has been a while since we last saw one another, seven years to be exact" Brittany sighs.

"Jackson was a bit of an ass, I mean I assumed his business partner knew all about him selling but to only tell you yesterday is disgraceful. I mean to say you didn't have any interest in buying him out without even giving you chance isn't nice either" Santana admits.

"He certainly is an ass, that's one thing we agree on" Brittany states.

"It's a nice office you have here" Santana says while looking around. "You seem to be running a very successful business too, Jackson showed me some of your figures and stuff."

"Thanks" Brittany replies.

"I always knew you'd do well because you're very talented, I mean you always were" Santana smiles.

"Um…ok" Brittany says not sure what else to say.

"So are you ok with me being here?" Santana asks.

"Not really, no" Brittany replies.

"I didn't know it was your company as well but I am in the process of buying Jackson's share so there isn't really much I can do now" Santana says.

"Actually I have an idea" Brittany says after thinking for a moment. "Once everything is signed over to you from Jackson I'm then going to buy you out" she suggests.

"Um Brittany…I'm not going to sell something that I've been dreaming about for years. I know this is not exactly ideal but I'm not about to give it up either" Santana replies.

"Yes but surely you don't want stuck here with me, I dare say there will be other companies you can buy into" Brittany reasons.

"I have just spent years working for someone so I'm not about to do that again, I'm staying here whether you like it or not" Santana says firmly.

"I suppose I haven't really seen Jackson that much so I guess it's not that important to see my business partner on a day to day basis so I'll just stick to my half of the company and you can stick to yours until we find you somewhere else to buy" Brittany says.

"You're misunderstanding me Brittany, I am not going anywhere" Santana tells her.

"You can't work here Santana, it's not fair on anyone" Brittany replies.

"You're the one who ran away Brittany so I have no problems seeing you so I'll be staying with this company" Santana assures her.

"I ran away to get away from you Santana so I don't particularly want you running my company with me" Brittany says.

"I'm not going anywhere Brittany so you're going to have to put up with me" Santana states.

"How are we getting on in here?" Jackson smiles while walking into the room.

"Oh fabulously" Brittany glares at Jackson.

"I know you're not pleased with me Brittany but I didn't know how else to tell you" Jackson says.

"You could have just told me how you did yesterday except did it the moment you knew you wanted to sell and not a month later" Brittany replies. "Look just get out of my office Jackson, I've got a lot of work to do."

"Ok, fine. Santana will we finish our conversation in my office?" Jackson asks.

"No problem" Santana says while following Jackson to the door. "Brittany, I'll see you again soon" she smiles.

"I guess you will" Brittany sighs and then Jackson and Santana leave.

* * *

"Did you talk to Jackson about buying the other half of the company? I mean I can get on the phone to the bank right away and we can organise a meeting tomorrow to go in and talk about a loan. I mean it is Friday tomorrow so it would be ideal if we could get the meeting tomorrow and we don't need to wait until Monday" Christian says as soon as Brittany arrives home from work. He's excited for her that she might finally get the whole company.

"I did talk to him" Brittany says while sitting down next to Christian, "but apparently he has already sold his part in the business to someone so he was never going to offer it to me in the first place."

"Babe…I don't know what to say" Christian says feeling bad for Brittany.

"Don't say anything, just pour me large glass of wine" Brittany sighs.

"Of course, I'll be right back" Christian says while running to the kitchen to pour Brittany some wine. "There you go babe" he says while handing her the glass.

"Thanks" she replies before taking a large drink of it. "I've never met such a pig in all my life. Jackson and I used to get on great together and now suddenly he's treating me like shit. What did I ever do for him to disrespect me like that?" she asks.

"He probably just didn't know how to talk to you about it because he knew you'd be upset" Christian reasons.

"Please do not tell me you're defending him right now?" Brittany asks.

"I'm not, I'm just trying to explain what I think" Christian says.

"Well it doesn't really matter anymore why he didn't tell me sooner because there's no chance he's backing out of the current sale" Brittany sighs.

"Do we know this person that he's sold it to?" Christian asks.

"Nope, I've no clue who she is" Brittany lies while shaking her head.

"It's not someone that Jackson knows or anyone working for you guys that's stepping up?" Christian asks.

"No it's someone completely new" Brittany replies.

"What's the name, I might know the person or heard of them?" Christian asks.

"No you don't know her" Brittany replies.

"How do you know if you don't know her either?" Christian asks. "I might have seen her around or know her family, maybe she is from here" he suggests.

"Well she told me that she's not from around here" Brittany says. She knows exactly where Santana is originally from but she never got a chance to ask Santana what she's doing in LA or how long she's been here.

"So what's her name?" Christian asks again since Brittany never actually said the name of the person.

"Her name is Santana Lopez but we only met briefly so I didn't get a chance to find out much about her" Brittany says.

"Apart from where she's originally from?" Christian says.

"Huh?"

"You didn't get to talk to her much apart from how she told you where she was from" he says.

"Right yeah, it just popped up briefly but anyway why are we talking about her right now. Let's forget about work for the moment" Brittany says and Christina nods.

* * *

It's Monday morning and it's officially Santana's first day at the company. Everything was signed by the weekend so as a favour to Jackson, the two lawyers managed to hurry up proceedings and get the sale completed. She is officially starting as the new co-owner and head of the music production side of things and she can't wait to get settled into her new office. However Jackson hasn't completed move yet, he's going to stay a few extra days in LA just to tie up a few loose ends and make sure everything is ok for Santana and he settles everything with Brittany. Brittany spent the whole of Friday ignoring him so he wants to make sure everything is ok with her before he leaves. He knows he didn't go about things the right way but he is leaving forever so he doesn't want to part on bad terms.

"Um…what are you doing?" Jackson asks as he walks into his old office which is now Santana's. The office is practically empty and the things that are filling the room are covered with sheets.

"Well I just thought I should start completely fresh so there's no point moving all my stuff in here if it's going to need repainted at some point so I might as well do it before anything gets moved in and the place is mostly empty" Santana shrugs.

"I didn't think the office really needed painted" Jackson replies, slightly offended by Santana.

"Yeah it was needing freshened up not to mention it needed a bit of a woman's touch" Santana smiles.

"Right" Jackson nods.

"Oh don't get me wrong, your office was fine. I just thought I could put my own stamp on things, it'd make it feel more like mine now you know" Santana smiles again.

"Yeah I understand" Jackson says while putting on his best smile. It never really hit him until this morning that this company isn't anything to do with him anymore. This is Brittany and Santana's company now and it's all going to be different.

"I'm also thinking of getting new furniture in here, what do you think about a nice real oak desk?" Santana asks while turning around to look at Jackson.

"I'm sure it'll be nice" Jackson replies. "But before you go onto decorating your office, don't you want me to show you around the place a bit more and bring you up to speed with things. I mean I'm guessing you'll be taking on most of my clients so it might help if I give you some information on them and how we run things."

"I appreciate that Jackson but it's not needed. I'll be doing things a little differently" Santana smiles.

"But you don't know anything about running your own company, you were just an assistant in your old job" Jackson states.

"Ok I'm going to stop you right there" Santana says while standing up straight. "This is my company now, you sold me your share so if you don't like the way I'm going to operate things then that's tough. Also more to the point, I wasn't just an assistant, I spent years running after that lazy ass of a man doing all his work. He got paid for all the work I did so I'll have you know that I'm very good at my job and I will continue to be very good in my own company" she says.

"But…"

"Actually maybe it's time you just leave now Jackson because I've got the decorators coming any minute now so we need to give them some room to move" Santana states.

"Ok, fine" Jackson huffs before leaving. Instead of leaving the building which Santana intended he do, Jackson went to Brittany's office to speak to her. "I'm sorry Brittany, I think I've made a massive mistake" he admits.

"I beg your pardon?" Brittany asks as she looks up from her desk.

"Perhaps you would have been the best person to buy me out after all and I didn't even give you the chance" Jackson replies.

"Jackson what is going on?" Brittany asks confused.

"Santana has only been here a matter of an hour or so and she's already changing everything. She's going to ruin this business and it's all my fault" Jackson sighs.

"Ok first of all you're right, you should have gave me the chance to buy you out" Brittany points out. "But second of all, Santana isn't going to ruin this business, if anything she might just save it."

"What do you mean, she's going to ruin it Brittany and we can't let her" Jackson says.

"When I was thinking about it over the weekend, I don't think there's any way I could have run this whole place myself so if anything Santana could be the person to keep things alive" Brittany admits. "I could see you were losing interest in this place but I pushed it aside because I was scared if I said anything then you might actually leave and if you left then I'd be screwed. Now though you are leaving I am terrified and I admit I was scared initially but perhaps this is the best thing for everyone."

"But it's not Brittany, I am telling you she is going to ruin this place. It'll never be the same place it was" Jackson says.

"No offence but anyone is better than you" Brittany says. "Like I say there was no way I could save this place all by myself so perhaps having Santana here might make things better."

"Listen to me Brittany, she is going to take over. I can just tell by the way she is changing everything, you need to watch yourself" Jackson states.

"No you listen to me, Santana won't ruin this so let it go" Brittany says seriously. As much as this is her nightmare business partner, she remembers how great Santana was and how much passion she had for music, there's no way Santana would ruin a company like this.

"Hey I thought you might like some…I thought you were leaving Jackson" Santana says, her smile quickly fading when she sees Jackson in the room.

"No you asked me to leave my office but I never said I was leaving the building" Jackson says.

"Um…my office" Santana points out.

"Pardon?" Jackson sighs.

"You said you left your office but it's actually my office now" Santana states. "Anyway I brought you some coffee Brittany" Santana smiles while placing the coffee in front of Brittany.

"Thanks" Brittany replies.

"It's just the way you like it" Santana tells her and Brittany's face falls.

"How do you know how Brittany likes her coffee?" Jackson quizzes Santana.

"Um…"

"George brought me coffee the other day when I showed Santana around my office and he happened to mention what it was to make sure he got the correct order" Brittany replies.

"Yep that's right and I remembered" Santana says breathing a sigh of relief. "Anyway I think it would be best that you leave us to it" she says turning to smile at Jackson. She secretly wants to punch him for some reason but she assumes it would be best just to smile since it's her first day and all so she doesn't want anyone getting the wrong impression of her.

"Brittany have a good think about what I was saying" Jackson says while leaving.

"It won't be necessary Jackson" she shouts as he walks away.

"So…how are you this morning" Santana smiles while taking a seat across from Brittany.

"Sure take a seat, why not?" Brittany says sarcastically.

"I know I'm not the person you wanted as your business partner and I admit you weren't exactly who I envisioned either but I think we can both safely say this is our dream jobs so let's not do anything rash ok?" Santana says.

"I must admit I do have to agree. It would be a petty thing to just walk away from what we've been dreaming about for years just because we don't like who we're working with" Brittany says. Initially she was just shocked and upset but at the end of the day, she would hate for Santana's dream to be crushed because of her and vice versa.

"I'm not saying we need to be best friends or anything but I'd like a bit more contact with you than what Jackson had. Looking over some of the documents that Jackson had has made me realise that it was almost two separate companies you two were running. Yours was really taking off and his was declining and I don't think either side of the business wants to be associated like that. You don't want your success being tarnished because of Jackson's failure and I'd rather not look incompetent when your side of things has had more success. People aren't going to want to work with me if they think it's not as successful, they'll know something is wrong if there is a big difference between the success of each department" Santana says.

"I sort of get where you're coming from but you can't blame me for Jackson not performing how he should. It's not my fault or the way I run things that has caused a decline in that aspect of our business" Brittany states.

"I'm not saying that, I'm just saying perhaps you and I have more meetings to make sure this is one successful company. You don't have to run your area all by yourself and I don't particularly want to run mine by myself either. I didn't mean you were to blame, I meant hypothetically if either of us was struggling then it is going to look bad for the other person too so we need to work together. I realise how obnoxious it might have sounded but I didn't mean that" Santana assures Brittany.

"Right" Brittany nods.

"I just meant perhaps we pull together and make this company even better. You've done amazing so far by the looks of things but if we work together then things could be even better. I didn't literally mean I was going to look bad, I meant hypothetically in businesses I wouldn't go somewhere that had negative press no matter how good it seemed" Santana says.

"I know what you mean now" Brittany nods.

"I think the two sides of the company need to gel together more and what better way to start than to rename the place" Santana smiles.

"I understand you want to rename it because it's got Jackson's name on the building but other than it is it perfectly fine" Brittany says.

"Yeah I mean we can discuss it but before we do I just wanted to let you know that I'm redecorating my office and I wondered if you want me to get the decorators to do yours too" Santana says.

"No it's ok, I don't have that much money to spare for decorating. I'd rather put the profits back into the business and not onto the walls if you get what I'm saying" Brittany smiles.

"It'll be free of charge. They owed me a favour so they're going to repaint my office and I'll get them to do yours too if you want" Santana says.

"Well it has been a while since I had any time to tidy the place up a bit" Brittany says.

"That's settled then, they'll be here as soon as they've done my office" Santana smiles while standing up. "Hey how about I help you move a few things so they can get access to the walls and then I'll tell them to come as soon as they're done with mine" she says.

"Um…ok" Brittany shrugs.

"Then once they're working in here, you and I can go to lunch and talk over some things. We can really get to know one another and catch up" Santana suggests.

"Fine but this lunch is professional not personal so no personal questions are to be asked" Brittany warns.

"Ok" Santana smiles.

"I mean it Santana, I know you have a way with persuading people but it's not going to work on me so don't even try" Brittany warns again.

"Ok, I promise to be on my best behaviour" Santana smiles once again.

* * *

There we go, that was chapter 2. Let me know what you think. You'll see them at lunch together next chapter and who knows, they might end up delving into the past and how they know one another.


	3. Lunch

Chapter 3: Lunch

Brittany and Santana are currently at lunch together and have just ordered. Like planned once they had moved the furniture in Brittany's office to make room for the decorators, Brittany picked up some of her files and they headed for an early lunch to discuss the business. Santana was insistent that they drove together but Brittany felt that wasn't professional enough so they both travelled separately.

"So have you been here before to this restaurant?" Santana asks as she looks around. She has just moved to this area so she's still trying to get to know her way around and try out new restaurants and things.

"I have, many times" Brittany nods. "The food is really good here and I've had a few business meetings here as well so the staff don't mind us sitting here for a while if we have a lot to go over once we've finished lunch" she says.

"I think we probably do have a lot to go through" Santana smiles.

"Me too but remember it's all going to be strictly professional Santana" Brittany reminds her.

"I know" Santana states.

"Why are you smiling then?" Brittany asks.

"Jeez, I'm just smiling. It's not actually a crime to smile you know, you should try it sometime" Santana answers.

"I know it's not a crime to smile but it was when you smiled that I didn't like. You smiled right after saying we had a lot to go through as if you wanted to catch up or something" Brittany says.

"You're not making any sense so how about you just let me smile whenever I want and we can forget about your paranoia" Santana suggests.

"I'm not paranoid but I know what you can be like, you're very good with words so you can manipulate someone into talking about something they don't want to" Brittany says.

"Excuse me I do not manipulate people, that's not fair" Santana says seriously.

"Let's just drop this now because I can see the waitress coming with our food" Brittany states and Santana nods. The waitress then approaches them and gives them their food before quickly departing again.

"Shall we just eat just now or would you like to discuss some things as we eat?" Santana asks.

"I don't mind going over some things as we eat" Brittany replies.

"Ok good, so I told you earlier that I thought we could rename the place but what I also thought we could do was change our mission statement and perhaps use a different slogan so that we can really catch people's attention" Santana says.

"Actually I agree with that because I do feel we need to grip people's attention more. I'll be the first to admit that our advertising isn't the best but with our budget there really wasn't much else we could do" Brittany says. "Actually that brings up a point, how are we meant to advertise better if we don't have the funds and to get the funds then we need more business?"

"I know it is a bit of a vicious circle but I thought we could make some cutbacks and use some of that money we've saved to advertise better and then once we make the money back up we then put it back into the business to fix other areas. You know focus on advertising first and then sort some of the more minor things" Santana suggests.

"Ok I do agree to some extent but what kind of cutbacks do you mean?" Brittany asks.

"Well right now we have a much bigger building than we need so I propose that we close one section of the offices to save on expenses like heating and lighting and get our staff to share offices" Santana replies.

"You must be out of your mind, we are not closing any section thank you very much" Brittany says immediately going against the idea.

"No listen, we could perhaps rent out some of the space and then we'd make money on it. Think about it, if we moved most of the staff to one floor then we could close the second floor offices and rent them out to someone else. Then once the business picks up then we can hire more staff to meet the work demand and reopen the second floor" Santana suggests.

"I'm sorry Santana but under no circumstances do I rent out part of my building. I worked my ass off to be able to get a place like this so I'm not about to close half of it to suit you" Brittany states.

"I'm not saying that, I'm saying if we close it temporarily and make some money on it and once we need more staff then we get it back again. The whole of the third floor we're on could hold all of our staff right now so we could move everyone up here. Everyone has been privileged enough to get as big office spaces as they have but perhaps we could make the desk areas a little smaller and get everyone on the one floor" Santana says.

"I really don't know if I want that Santana" Brittany says shaking her head.

"Look just at least think about it because we could make some money out of the empty space until the business picks up" Santana says.

"I will think about it but I highly doubt I'm going to change my mind" Brittany replies.

"As long as you do think about it then I don't mind you saying no" Santana smiles.

"Like I say I will at least think about it" Brittany assures her. They spend the next ten minutes eating in silence. Brittany isn't particularly sure how she feels about Santana wanting to change all of this stuff because she's worried it could make the business worse. She just feels it's all a bit too much too soon rather than just gradually getting used to a new business partner.

"Oh I meant to say, I'll be sharing your office with you for the first week or so" Santana says breaking the silence.

"Absolutely not, that will not be happening at all" Brittany states.

"But it'll help me get up to speed with everything and you can talk me through how things usually work. It'll only be for the first week or two, I'm not saying forever" Santana assures her.

"No Santana, you don't just suddenly turn up as my new business partner and then expect me to share an office with you. I'm putting up with this whole thing for the sake of our careers so I'm dealing with being your business partner but that's it. I don't want to have to see you all the time day in and day out, that's just not going to happen" Brittany states.

"It's only for a week until I see how things run on a daily basis plus it'll be easier for us to make decisions if we're in the same room" Santana says.

"You don't need me to hold your hand Santana, I think you have enough knowledge to be able to handle this. I understand it's a new thing for you and it's a new company but you're smart Santana so you'll pick it up easily" Brittany replies.

"Why are you so against seeing me on a daily basis?" Santana asks.

"I'm not against it as such, I just don't think it's needed. I'll do my job and you can do yours so we really don't need to see one another that often" Brittany says.

"Do you feel awkward around me or something?" Santana asks.

"Do I look awkward around you?" Brittany asks.

"As a matter of fact you do" Santana replies.

"I'm not awkward around you Santana, if I was then I wouldn't be sitting here at lunch with you…now I didn't say I'm not uneasy around you though because I am. I just want you to make sure you don't slip up like you did the other day because as far as anyone is aware, we don't know each other" Brittany says. She's not awkward being in Santana's company but she most certainly doesn't want anyone to know her past so she's slightly worried Santana might slip up and mention something.

"Brittany can I ask you a question?" Santana says hesitantly.

"Sure" Brittany shrugs.

"Why did you pretend the other day that you didn't know me?" Santana asks.

"Santana I warned you, that is a personal question and I specifically said that I didn't want us to ask one another anything personal. You promised you wouldn't" Brittany states.

"I'm sorry but I don't understand why we need to keep us knowing one another a secret. I know you and you know me, is that such a big deal?" Santana asks.

"Yes it's a big deal because if we say we know one another then people will then ask how do we know one another and that's really something that no one needs to know" Brittany states.

"I don't understand why you couldn't just say, oh we went to school together no big deal" Santana says.

"I couldn't say that because then people would ask where I went to school and all that stuff and I just can't be bothered with it. I like my life how it is so I don't want to have to explain anything to them, the briefer the better" Brittany says. "Anyway let's stop talking about this because it's becoming personal and I warned you about that."

"Brittany stop talking to me like I child, you can't warn me about something. I know you don't want me to talk about anything personal so you can request I don't but if I want to ask you something then I will, we're mature adults now" Santana says getting annoyed.

"I've always been a mature adult but you…hmm not so much" Brittany snipes.

"What you just said wasn't mature" Santana says rolling her eyes. "Anyway we need to work together now so can't we just come to some sort of agreement of how to handle things because the truth is we do know one another, rather well actually."

"Look I was just surprised to see you and I just panicked when I realised it you. I guess it wouldn't have been so bad to just say I knew you from high school but to be honest I don't want to relive my past" Brittany replies.

"I see" Santana nods.

"No one here knows about my past and I'd like to keep it that way so please don't say anything to anyone" Brittany tells Santana. "I'd rather just leave my old life in Ohio and not bring it up again here especially when it was a tough time for me emotionally. I'm doing well here that I don't want anything to ruin my life right now. I'm finally in a good place so it'd kill me if something got in the way of that."

"I won't say anything about the past but when it's just you and I around then please don't treat me like an idiot" Santana says.

"I'll be respectful but remember you and I weren't on the best of terms when I left so I can't forget about that either. It's not something that I just brushed aside, it took me a long time to accept you weren't in my life anymore even though I couldn't be in Ohio anymore" Brittany says.

"I still don't understand why you left to be honest but you don't look like you want to talk about it anymore so I'll leave it just now" Santana says.

"Thank you" Brittany says genuinely.

"As for this whole personal and professional thing, you don't have to hide your life from me. Since we are working together then we could at least be friends you know" Santana says.

"I know we could be friends but it's whether it's wise or not for us to be friends" Brittany says.

"Ok we don't need to be friends then but perhaps you could open up to me a bit just so I know enough about you that I'm not going to be embarrassed when a member of the staff asks something and I have no clue about it" Santana says.

"I tend to keep my private life separate so most of our staff don't know much personal things about me so I don't think you need to know either" Brittany replies.

"Fair enough but at least explain to me about your name, I mean you didn't used to be called Brittany Smith" Santana points out.

"No, that I did not" Brittany laughs. "I forgot you would only know me as Pierce, I'm guessing that's why you didn't know it was me you were going into business with."

"Yeah that's right so what happened to Pierce, did some lucky girl steal you and marry you?" Santana asks.

"Oh no" Brittany says shaking her head before taking a drink of her water.

"Sorry I thought since you changed your name it was because you got married or something" Santana says.

"Well yeah it is because I'm married now" Brittany replies.

"I had a feeling you might be married now, you always said you wanted to get married young plus you always were a great person so I'm not surprised you're with someone" Santana says. "So who's the lucky girl, would I know her?" she asks.

"No Santana, you don't understand me" Brittany says.

"What do you mean?" Santana asks confused.

"I'm not married to a woman" Brittany states.

"Ok, wait a second…" Santana says laughing. "You have a husband?" she asks and Brittany nods head. "Oh wow, ok. I was just being funny but you're serious aren't you?" Santana says shocked.

"Yes, why is that so shocking for you to understand?" Brittany asks.

"Because back in high school you were a les…"

"Shush!" Brittany says harshly while looking around.

"What?" Santana says while glaring.

"I told you no one knows my past ok so please keep your damn voice down" Brittany snaps.

"Right ok, I'm sorry…jeez" Santana says rolling her eyes. "I'm guessing there is some big plan or something, right?" she asks.

"Plan for what?" Brittany asks.

"Well I assume you're only married to him because he needs to stay in the country or something, I mean I don't know any other reason as to why you'd marry a man" Santana says.

"I'm married to him because I love him, not that it's any of your business" Brittany replies. "I'm going to get the check now because we're not talking about this here in public" she says while getting up to go and find the waitress. As soon as Brittany pays for the food, she comes back over to the table to get her things.

"Brittany what about going over the details of the business" Santana says while quickly grabbing her things and following Brittany out of the restaurant. "Also I still need to pay my share of lunch" she says.

"If you really want to discuss the business then we're going back to my office but we are not having a discussion about my personal life in a busy restaurant, are we clear?" Brittany asks.

"Ok fine, I'll see you back at your office" Santana states before going over to her car. They both make their way back to work and meet in Brittany's office ten minutes later.

"Hey George, I need to speak to Santana right now in my office so I'll call you if we need anything, ok?" Brittany tells her assistant.

"Ok no problem Brittany" George smiles before leaving. Brittany then goes over and closes the office door behind him before motioning for Santana to take a seat which she promptly does.

"You suggested earlier some changes but before we do anything like that, we should probably get you up to speed with the protocols that are already set in place and if you think there needs anything to be amended or added" Brittany says. "I think you should also get to know the staff a bit more and their roles within the company. I know Jackson probably introduced you to many of his staff members but you should probably know the people that work for me as well so how about we talk over a few more things here and then I can let you meet everyone?" she suggests.

"A man Brittany, you're married to a man?" Santana questions.

"Have you been listening to anything I just said Santana?" Brittany asks.

"I'm sorry but I can't get my head around this, how can you be married to a man?" she asks.

"There isn't much to get your head around, I mean I got married big deal. Most of my friends are married too now and my best friend actually just had a baby a few months ago" Brittany says not seeing any problem with being married.

"Best friend, huh" Santana says. It's been years since she was best friends with Brittany but it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt a little to finally know Brittany has a new best friend.

"Yeah my best friend" Brittany shrugs, still not seeing the significance.

"Anyway that's not the issue here" Santana says shaking her head after a minute. "The issue is that I can't understand why you're married to a man, I mean an actual man not woman a man. I'm sure he's a nice person and everything but he's a man."

"I think I know that my husband is a man" Brittany glares.

"I was your best friend since we were four Brittany, we grew up together and everything. We might not have seen one another for seven years but it doesn't mean I've forgotten how close we used to be. It's also pretty hard to forget when someone tells you they like the same sex so I don't understand why someone like you who has always liked girls is now married to a man" Santana says.

"I'm not a lesbian ok despite what you might think" Brittany states seriously.

"Yeah like I'm going to believe you just suddenly changed your mind" Santana says brushing it off.

"I love my husband, if I didn't then I wouldn't marry him would I?" Brittany says. "I was young and stupid in the past. You can't seriously think I would still be like that."

"What is going on with you, you can't deny what happened in the past and what you told me" Santana says.

"I'm not denying it because I know what I told you about liking girls or whatever but the truth is I was just some silly teenage girl when I said that. I was young and stupid like I said. It was just some silly phase I went through that has completely gone" Brittany shrugs.

"For a year?" Santana questions. "Do you really think I'm going to believe you went through a phase for a year of liking girls and now suddenly it's over?"

"Santana I'm telling you it was just a phase because I was young and confused. Don't all teenage girls get confused at some point or another in their life about something?" Brittany reasons.

"So you're telling me I was your fucking phase for a year?" Santana asks, a mix between anger and hurt.

"Santana…" Brittany says realising she might have hurt her feelings.

"I know I did some things and I might have pushed you too much at times so you were pissed at me but to know you hurt me even before what happened, I mean what was I just someone you could string along because you felt like being a lesbian for a year?" Santana asks angrily.

"It's not like that Santana and please keep your voice down, the whole of the building will know" Brittany sighs.

"You've just sat there and basically told me that you used me" Santana states.

"I'd never use you Santana, honestly I would never hurt you like that. What I said just came out wrong but the truth is, I'm not a lesbian" Brittany replies.

"You're right, we shouldn't be talking about our personal lives at work" Santana says sadly. It's not that she wishes they were still together or anything but to basically be told that Brittany didn't feel the same way as her even though they were together for a year and were in love, it's a major kick in the teeth.

"I'm sorry if I upset you Santana but I guess you can see now why I left Ohio" Brittany says.

"No I can't actually, if I was just a phase then why did you need to leave. If you weren't serious about us then why run away?" Santana asks. She's not entirely sure why Brittany ran away but she does know it was something to do with their relationship so if Brittany wasn't serious about it then why run away from it and not just admit the truth.

"I had to move away, it was the best for everyone" Brittany replies. "I didn't want to hurt you by staying around any longer and let's be honest, you were pushing me into something I didn't want."

"So you ran away because you were scared. Instead of dealing with how you felt and telling me the truth, you thought why not I just move away" Santana says.

"Yes that's exactly what I did" Brittany states. "You were forcing me into a life I didn't want and I was just 16 Santana."

"I was 16 too Brittany so don't act like I was forcing you into anything when I wasn't" Santana says.

"You wanted the whole world to know we were together and I wasn't ready for that not to mention the other things that you did" Brittany says.

"I did some stupid things I know but it was all because I loved you. I never did any of it to hurt you, I just wanted to help you" Santana states.

"I think…" Brittany can't finish her sentence because a knock comes at the door. "Hold on until I see who this is" she says while getting up and going over to the door to see who it is.

"Sorry to disturb you but Jackson is on the phone for you, he says it's urgent" George says when Brittany opens the door.

"Ok well tell him I'll call him back in a second" Brittany replies and George nods before leaving again. "Look I'm going to have to deal with him otherwise he won't go away but we can talk more later if you want."

"Yeah we should, I'll leave you to it just now though" Santana says before leaving.

* * *

I know there's still a lot more to reveal about their past but it can't just all come out at once especially when it's still only Santana's first day working with Brittany. However I won't drag things on forever, more will definitely be revealed next chapter.


	4. Understanding

Chapter 4: Understanding?

Santana and Brittany haven't spoken since yesterday because work got in the way and they just never had time to finish their conversation. Once Brittany called Jackson back, there wasn't really much time for her and Santana to talk again because Jackson wouldn't stop telling her about how he made a mistake by selling his share of the company. Brittany is currently sitting at her desk going through some things in her office.

"Morning" Santana says after knocking on Brittany's open office door.

"Hey" Britany says while looking up from what she's doing at her desk.

"Are you busy right now or can I talk to you quickly?" Santana asks.

"No I've got a spare second if you want to talk" Brittany tells her. "George could you give us a minute?"

"No problem Brittany" George nods while quickly leaving.

"So what's up?" Brittany asks Santana.

"I wanted to go over some things from yesterday but firstly I think it would be wise though that we do share an office just until I get the hang of things" Santana says.

"Yeah you might be right actually" Brittany agrees. "I mean the sooner we get things back on track, the better" she says.

"Exactly so if you want to clear me some space in here then I'll go and get my things" Santana says while heading towards the door.

"Ok, no problem" Brittany says while beginning to clear some space for Santana. As soon as Santana has got the things she needs, she comes back to Brittany's office and they begin to talk over a few business things. They barely get a chance to talk for five minutes before they hear a loud scream.

"What was that noise?" Santana asks.

"It just sounded like someone was screaming for some reason" Brittany shrugs it off.

"Brittany I am sure someone shouted 'fire'" Santana states.

"Fire?" Brittany questions while beginning to get panicked. "There are no fire alarms going…ok here they are" she says while beginning to hear the fire alarm going off.

"Exactly" Santana says.

"Ok let's go then" Brittany says while leaping from her chair. They run out of the office and as soon as they are going past all the desks of the other members of staff, Brittany notices people huddled around the one particular area.

"Guys, the fire alarm is going off. Why is everyone standing around here?" Brittany asks.

"Because this is the fire" George replies. Brittany and Santana both look over and notice a small piece of paper has been set on fire.

"Why are you all standing staring at it then and not putting it out?" Santana questions.

"We can't get the extinguisher to work" George states.

"Give me that" Santana says while snatching the fire extinguisher out of a staff member's hand. "Brittany hold that still while I spray this" she says and Brittany does what she asks. Santana quickly points the hose at the fire and puts it out.

"Did you get it?" Brittany asks.

"Yep, shows over everyone so back to work please" Santana says while clapping her hands. Everyone then quickly goes back to their desks and gets back to work.

"All that screaming for a tiny piece of paper" Santana says shaking her head as they walk back to Brittany's office.

"I know" Brittany agrees.

"Thanks for helping me anyway" Santana smiles as they sit back down in the office.

"I didn't really do anything, I just held the extinguisher still while you sprayed the fire" Brittany shrugs.

"Yeah but that's still helping" Santana smiles again. "We always did work well as a team didn't we?" she says.

"Yeah I guess we did" Brittany replies. "Speaking of working as a team, I probably couldn't do half of the stuff I do if I didn't have George. Have you thought about getting an assistant or anything because it's going to be a lot of work to do it all yourself?" she asks.

"I've thought about it but I've just not had a lot of time to do anything about it" Santana replies.

"Well I could help you to find someone if you want" Brittany suggests.

"You wouldn't mind?" Santana asks.

"Of course not because we both want things to work well so like you said you're success affects mine" Brittany points out.

"Well we can think about assistants and advertising for the position at another point but how about you show me the accounts again and we can see where we are with those at the minute" Santana suggests.

"Sure" Brittany nods before finding the relevant spreadsheets on her computer. "Ok these are how we performed last month and these ones here are how we are currently performing at this very point this month" she tells Santana.

"Right ok well I'm no accountant but I would seriously suggest we change a few things up and really cut down on expenses as much as we can" Santana says.

"I agree completely" Brittany says.

"Um…sorry to interrupt but you're scheduled to start choreographing for a new music video this afternoon Brittany and I'm just clarifying with you that it's still going ahead so are you still available to do that?" George says.

"Yeah I'm all good to go on that front" Brittany smiles.

"Ok good, I'll come and get you when everyone is ready" George says.

"Thanks George" Brittany says.

"I'll leave you to it just now then" George says while walking back over to the door.

"Oh before you go, can you do us a favour?" Brittany asks and George nods. "Can you get us two coffees please?" she asks her assistant.

"No problem Brittany, I'll be right back with those" George nods before hurrying away again.

"George seems nice" Santana points out. "Has he been working for you long?"

"Yeah he's always been my assistant ever since Jackson and I started the company" Brittany replies. "He's a great worker and to be honest if it wasn't for him this company wouldn't still be here."

"I see" Santana nods. "He's really been there for you then?" she asks.

"Yeah he really has, he does a lot more than an assistant needs to do and I'm very grateful. It's not all about getting coffee and cakes" Brittany says.

"Don't you think you should promote him then or at least pay him more than an assistant's salary?" Santana asks.

"I already do pay him more" Brittany replies.

"Oh well that's good then" Santana smiles just as George walks in with the coffees. "Brittany was just telling me how hard working you are and how much of an asset you've been to the company" she says.

"Well…uh…I'm very grateful to Brittany for giving me this job. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't have anything" George says honestly. "Anyway I'll leave you to it and let you get back to your discussion" he says.

"Thanks for the coffee" Brittany says just before George leaves.

"What did he mean when he said he wouldn't have anything?" Santana asks.

"It's not really my place to say but basically George was going through some hard times when I met him and once I gave him the job, he managed to get a few things back on track moneywise" Brittany replies and Santana nods understanding. They stay silent for a few moments while they both take a sip of their coffees.

"Brittany I just want to apologise about yesterday, I was just really shocked by what you told me" Santana says sincerely breaking the silence.

"I don't understand why it shocked you so much" Brittany replies.

"I didn't mean to offend you but I just assumed by everything that we talked about in high school that you were a lesbian and…"

"Santana I've told you before, I don't want to bring that up when I'm at work" Brittany says seriously. She wants to keep her past hidden for a reason, she doesn't want to continue talking about it when other people could hear her.

"What's so wrong with being a lesbian?" Santana questions.

"There's nothing wrong with it but I just don't want you telling the whole building you thought I was a lesbian when quite clearly I'm not" Brittany says.

"You told me you weren't interested in men, you said you liked girls" Santana states. She may sound naïve but everything they went through in high school meant something to her. She didn't take what they told each other lightly. When Brittany confided in her that she liked girls, she assumed Brittany meant it and that it wasn't just a phase she went through.

"Santana once again we've deviated from what we need to talk about so I think it's time we get things sorted instead of delaying them further" Brittany says.

"I know we need to talk about the business but don't you think there will be a better atmosphere when we clear a few things up?" Santana asks.

"That might be so but I don't think we should be sorting out the past on work time. You've just seen the accounts and how much the business is struggling so the last thing we need is to neglect it to discuss one another's sexuality" Brittany says.

"Look I just want you to know that I didn't mean to offend you" Santana sighs. "I don't completely understand your point of view but as a friend and a colleague I should start respecting it so that's what I'm going to do."

"Are we friends?" Brittany asks.

"Well it might be worthwhile to be since we do work together" Santana says.

"We end up arguing every time we talk so I don't quite think that qualifies as friends" Brittany says.

"I know we've not had the best start but we used to be best friends and I'd hate our business to suffer just because we don't think we could be grown up about our situation. I know what I said yesterday was wrong but you have to agree that you've been quite cold towards me since we saw one another again" Santana says.

"I don't mean to be cold towards you Santana but the truth is I just don't know how to act around you. You don't seem as bothered about how we left things all those years ago as I do" Brittany points out.

"It's been seven years Brittany and probably eight years since we properly interacted so I'm not being cheeky but I haven't been waiting around for you and pining for you, I've moved on so to speak" Santana says. It certainly didn't mean that she forgot about Brittany though.

"Yes I've moved on too but it doesn't mean I've forgotten about the past. Obviously you've noticed I don't want to talk about it but I still remember what happened between us and how we left things" Brittany says. Even though it's in the past and she wants to forget about things, it doesn't mean she has been able to wipe it completely out of her mind. She had forgotten to a certain extent but with seeing Santana again, a lot of things have resurfaced so it's hard to pretend it never happened.

"Do you not think that maybe talking a few things over might actually help us feel more comfortable working together?" Santana asks.

"Yes it might but is today really the right time and is this really the right place, anyone could hear us" Brittany says.

"How about we just shut your door then because I do think if we talk today then we can finally get the conversation out of the way and be able to work together without there being any tension" Santana says.

"But…" Brittany tries to protest but Santana is already on her feet shutting the door.

"Look if you don't want to talk about the past then we don't have to talk about everything, just at least explain to me what you meant by me being your phase" Santana says. "We were together for a year and you told me you loved me, I mean am I supposed to believe that the person who was my best friend for years and was there for me whenever things got hard didn't mean it when she said she loved me?"

"It came out wrong because I did love you Santana, there's no way I couldn't love you" Brittany says honestly.

"Brittany you can't say that and then say I forced you into being with me" Santana says.

"You're twisting my words Santana, I didn't say you forced me into being with you. I said I felt pushed into something I didn't want when I meant I wasn't ready for the world to know about us being together. It doesn't mean I didn't love you, it just meant I wasn't comfortable with everyone knowing my private business" Brittany says.

"Apparently you're still not comfortable with who you are yet everyone seems to know you're married since you changed your last name, which is it?" Santana asks.

"The relationship with my husband and I is completely different to the one we had. You and I were young at the time and still in school whereas I'm older now and I've experienced life more" Brittany says. "There is no comparison between the two with the exception that I love my husband and I really did love you when we were together."

"I know I just said I respect your opinion and what you want to do with your life but I still don't understand any of this" Santana says honestly. "If we were so in love and you told me you did like other girls then why do you react so ashamed whenever I ask you about liking other girls?"

"Santana I'm not saying this to hurt you ok, but I'm definitely not a lesbian and I'm definitely not bisexual either so can we quit talking about this" Brittany says. She knows not everything is completely black and white but at this point, she is married to a man and loves him very much. "I understand you're comfortable with your sexuality and you know for sure that you only like women but I'm not like you Santana" she tells her.

"Ok so you admit you're not quite comfortable with who you are?" Santana asks.

"I didn't mean that, I meant I'm not like you because I don't like women in the same way you do. For a long time you knew you liked women but for a long time I didn't know who I was but now I do" Brittany says honestly.

"Oh" Santana says beginning to understand where Brittany is coming from.

"I need to be honest, when I confided in you that I liked women, I didn't exactly tell you the truth" Brittany says hesitantly.

"I don't understand" Santana says confused.

"Well I told you that I started to see girls differently but what I meant was that I started to see one girl differently. I started to develop feelings for you and because I struggled to tell you that then you thought I meant I started to see girls in general differently not just you" Brittany says honestly. "I wasn't attracted to girls, I was attracted to you but I was too embarrassed to tell you that my words got mixed up and you assumed I meant girls plural not girl as in singular."

"Oh…" Santana isn't quite sure what to say.

"I never meant to mislead you Santana but you seemed so happy that you finally thought you could talk to someone that felt the same that I didn't know how to tell you the truth" Brittany tells her genuinely.

"You've only ever been attracted to me?" Santana questions.

"Yeah" Brittany nods her head. "I had all of these feelings for you and I tried to tell you but my brain couldn't function properly. I knew you liked other girls but I was still so nervous to say anything about my crush on you because you were my best friend. You were the person I talked to about my crushes and things but I didn't know how that was going to change when my crush was in fact you?"

"So you felt pushed into going public with me because you didn't know how you felt yourself never mind how other people would react?" Santana asks.

"Exactly, it was hard for me to deal with being in a relationship with a girl when I didn't find other girls attractive" Brittany says. "At least you knew who you were but I didn't know how I identified myself, I mean was I a straight girl in a lesbian relationship or was I bisexual just because I liked one girl?"

"You could have told me you know Brittany, I might have been less forceful about us. I mean I just felt so happy that I wanted everyone to know we were together but I didn't mean to push you into anything" Santana says.

"I know now that you didn't mean it but it's a lot to handle at 16" Brittany says. Santana was always a lot more confident and comfortable in herself so some of the things that bothered Brittany didn't necessarily bother Santana.

"I appreciate that but we were always best friends so I thought you could have talked to me a bit more" Santana says. "I think I understand things a little better now though."

"The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you but I myself was hurting so I perhaps didn't handle everything in the best of terms just before I left" Brittany says.

"Why did you move away Britt?" Santana asks gently. This is the first time anyone has called Brittany, Britt in seven years so it's strange for Brittany to hear that again. It's strange but yet in a good way, it makes her feel all gooey inside and like a teenager again.

"No one has called me that since you last called me that" Brittany points out with a hint of fondness in her tone. It reminds her of all the good times they had together and how much she missed Santana.

"What, Britt?" Santana questions.

"Yeah" Brittany nods. "You were the only person who used to call me that and it feels like a lifetime ago."

"I can assure you I'm not that old yet so it wasn't exactly a lifetime" Santana jokes.

"I know, it's just no one has ever called me that before except you so it just feels like a while ago. You weren't just the last person, you were the only person who called me Britt" Brittany says.

"Doesn't your parents or your husband ever call you Britt?" Santana asks and Brittany shakes her head.

"To answer your previous question though, I moved away because I was scared if I stayed any longer then we'd do something to hurt one another or do something we'd regret" Brittany says. "I realise now though that I probably did that anyway."

"I was devastated when you left Ohio" Santana admits.

"It seemed like the best solution for me at the time" Brittany says. "I knew if I stayed then we'd probably only make it another month or so before I said something I didn't mean or before something happened that completely ruined our friendship. We wanted completely different things at the time and I felt we'd hurt one another more to stay together than to just leave and remember the good times we had together."

"You left Ohio seven years ago but the year after when I saw you at that funeral in Ohio, I still loved you" Santana admits.

"But you told me you'd never forgive me for giving up on us" Brittany says.

"I know but I didn't really mean it, I was just upset that you left me" Santana says. "I still wasn't over you even after a year and I didn't understand why you just left so I kinda blamed you."

"Santana I didn't leave you out of choice, I left Ohio out of choice. I still loved you when I left but I couldn't be a part of what you wanted so I made the decision to leave before things were completely ruined" Brittany says. "It was too much pressure for me to deal with at the time so I had to get out before things got worse. If we were together any longer then I'd feel obligated to let you start telling people we were together and I couldn't do that. Do you know my parents still don't know we were ever romantically involved?"

"Based on what we've talked about then it doesn't exactly surprise me" Santana admits.

"What about you, did you eventually tell everyone about us?" Brittany asks.

"No and I would never have did that without your permission, it's not just an everyday decision that you make" Santana says.

"I thought maybe because you knew I was never coming back to Ohio then you might have confided in someone" Brittany says.

"I didn't but I did come out to my parents" Santana admits.

"It makes sense I guess" Brittany says. She figured Santana would have come out by now because it has been seven years since they were together and Santana was more confident than Brittany about who she was, she even admitted it ten minutes ago.

"Anyway we should probably leave it there for just now about the past, we should really talk about things properly at some point but I do understand a little more about what happened" Santana says and Brittany nods in agreement.

"So are we ok just now?" Brittany asks.

"Yeah we're ok for the moment, let's just concentrate on work and try to at least get to a place where we can be friends" Santana says.

"Cool" Brittany smiles. This is probably only one of handful of times that Brittany has smiled at Santana recently. She hasn't really felt comfortable enough around Santana until this point. They haven't sorted out their issues or discussed everything but for the moment Brittany knows she can trust Santana to not say anything to anyone until she's ready. She might have moved on and got married now but her past is still a big deal to her.

"You never actually told me, what's your husband's name?" Santana asks as they get back to work.

"Christian" Brittany replies with a smile. "He's lived in LA his whole life and he's a car salesman" she tells Santana.

"So how did you two meet?" Santana asks.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Brittany asks. She doesn't want Santana to feel awkward or feel obliged to get to know her just because they're working together now and came to some sort of understanding for the minute.

"Yes I want to know, we were best friends for twelve years so I would like to know more about who eventually married you" Santana smiles.

"We met senior year in high school when I moved here. We started off as friends and then it developed from there" Brittany replies.

"We started off as friends too" Santana points out.

"Santana…"

"I'm just saying I can understand how that happened" Santana says.

"Once I moved here I was really lonely and didn't really know the place well since I barely knew anyone here and he really took me under his wing and we became friends. It wasn't until eight months later that we started dating" Brittany replies. "So what about you, are you with someone now?" she asks.

"No I'm happily single at the minute" Santana smiles but what Brittany doesn't realise is that Santana is indeed single but not happily.

* * *

Let me know what you think. In the next chapter I'll probably do a flashback of how they left things when Brittany moved away.


	5. Dinner

It must just be the way I write because Brittany was never meant to come off as a bitch to Santana. Yes she was uncomfortable around her and didn't want to get too personal but this story was never supposed to be about pitting them against one another. Also has anyone ever thought that maybe Brittany got married because she knew Santana didn't want her anymore. When Santana told her that she'd never forgive her for leaving then Brittany assumed Santana meant it so perhaps she just moved on because she figured it'd be pointless waiting on someone who can't forgive her. Anyway here is the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 5: Dinner

Christmas is a week away so Brittany and Santana are working ten times harder to get things sorted before Christmas. Ideally they want everything with the business settled before the end of the year and they want to make sure Santana is up to speed with everything and there aren't many changes needing to be made come January.

Santana is still sharing an office with Brittany at the minute and currently they are both working individually on the things they need to get through for the two sides of the business. Brittany is beginning to get more comfortable working with Santana and things aren't as awkward as they first were when Santana first arrived.

"So what's your plans for Christmas this year then?" Brittany asks as they continue to work.

"My parents are coming over from Ohio and we're going to have dinner at my place" Santana replies.

"Oh so your parents still live in Ohio then?" Brittany asks. Obviously since she hasn't seen Santana in seven years then she wasn't sure how long Santana has even been here or where her parents stay.

"Yeah, I don't think they'll ever really move" Santana says. "I mean my siblings are all here in LA as well but my parents seem happy in Ohio."

"Would they not even move if you had kids or something, you know so they could be close to their grandchildren?" Brittany asks.

"Steady on, I'm only 24 right now" Santana smiles.

"I know what you mean, there's no way I'm ready for children either at the moment. I want to concentrate on my business right now" Brittany says and Santana nods in agreement.

"What about you, are you having Christmas with your family or just with your husband?" Santana asks.

"I'll be having Christmas with my whole family and Christian's parents might come too" Brittany replies.

"That'll be nice then to have all your family together" Santana says.

"Yeah I guess it will" Brittany says.

"So how are your parents getting on anyway, are they doing ok?" Santana asks. When Brittany and she used to be really close then she was always around the Pierce's and at their house so they were like another family to her.

"Yeah they're doing really well, still working really hard" Brittany smiles.

"That's good" Santana smiles back.

"I was actually telling my parents the other night that you're my new business partner and they're delighted about that. They even want you to come to dinner with me some time so they can catch up with you" Brittany says.

"I always really liked your parents" Santana smiles. "Maybe if it isn't too uncomfortable for you then I might just come to dinner one time" she says.

"Well I'll be having dinner with them on Tuesday night at their place if you want to come" Brittany replies.

"Would you be ok with that?" Santana asks.

"Of course, I mean if we can work together then I'm sure we can eat dinner together. Plus I actually like us being friends again because we always did get on well and now hopefully we're more mature and can handle being around one another more" Brittany says.

"Ok well I'd love to come to dinner on Tuesday then, just text me the address and the time and I'll be there" Santana smiles.

"How about I just pick you up and we can go together?" Brittany suggests.

"That suits me, I'll write down my address then and you can let me know what time dinner will be at in the next few days" Santana replies.

"That's cool, dinner will probably be around six or seven though but I'll double check with my parents and let you know" Brittany smiles.

"Cool" Santana smiles back. "So how is your Christmas shopping coming on?" she asks after a short silence.

"Really good actually, I'm almost done which I'm glad about" Brittany says. "Usually I'm always running around at the last minute getting everyone something but for some reason this year I've been really organised which is weird but also really good."

"I remember we had to go shopping on Christmas eve one year because you hadn't bought all of your gifts yet and all the shops were crazy busy, it was just a nightmare" Santana says.

"I know, I certainly learned my lesson that year" Brittany laughs.

"Me too I think because every year since I've always made sure I've got all my gifts sorted" Santana says.

"So you'll be sorted this year then?" Brittany asks.

"Yeah just about, I've only got a couple of things left to wrap but they're for my sister so it should be ok" Santana replies.

* * *

It's Tuesday night and Santana is waiting on Brittany coming to pick her up for dinner with the Pierce's. On one hand she's looking forward to seeing Brittany's parents again since it's been such a long time but she's also nervous because she doesn't know what they think about her. Obviously she knows that they'll know something happened between her and Brittany since they didn't speak for seven years but she's not sure what Brittany told them as to why that happened. She's also really nervous because she didn't get a chance to ask Brittany if Christian was coming or not to dinner and she doesn't think she's ready to meet Brittany's husband yet. Santana is just about to pour herself a drink to settle her nerves when there's a knock on the door so she abandons the drink idea and goes and answers the door.

"Hey are you ready to go?" Brittany smiles.

"Yep just about, I need to quickly grab my coat and my purse" Santana replies.

"Ok, I'll wait here for you then" Brittany tells her. Santana then grabs her things and locks the door behind her. "Are you ok?" Brittany asks as they walk downstairs.

"I'm just a little nervous about seeing your parents again. I mean after everything that's happened between us then they might hate me or something" Santana says.

"Santana they don't hate you, honestly" Brittany smiles.

"Ok" Santana nods and they walk to Brittany's car in silence.

"Do they like red wine?" Santana randomly blurts out.

"Who my parents?" Brittany queries.

"Yeah, do they still like red wine because I figured it would be rude to turn up to dinner empty handed so I bought some wine for them but now I'm just thinking they might not like it" Santana says nervously.

"They still like red wine so don't worry" Brittany smiles. "Look I wouldn't worry about anything because they're excited to see you, trust me" she reassures Santana.

"Ok" Santana says taking a deep breath.

"Anyway here's my car" Brittany says while holding the passenger door open for Santana. When she gets in she breathes a sigh of relief when she sees the car is empty and Christian isn't there.

"So who is all having dinner with your parents tonight?" Santana asks as Brittany drives off.

"Just you, me and my parents. My siblings are all busy and Christian works late on Tuesday nights so I usually just eat with my parents instead of eating alone, I just hate eating alone" Brittany replies.

"Well that's the story of my life, eating alone" Santana says.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by that. I just meant…"

"It's ok, I know you didn't mean anything by it but you're right, it does suck" Santana says.

"So are none of your friends here or anything?" Brittany asks.

"Not really, they all live quite a bit away so I don't get to see them that much and with us being so busy at the company these days then there's not a lot of time at night to hang out or have dinner with them. I mean on my days off then I'll travel there or we'll meet half way somewhere and have lunch together or something but on a work night I don't get much time" Santana replies.

"If you ever need more time off then just let me know, we can work something out" Brittany says.

"It's fine, I can handle it just now since I know it's only because I'm still getting the hang of things at the company. Once things settle down a bit then hopefully I'll have some more time to see my friends" Santana says. As soon as they arrive at Brittany's parent's house, they go inside.

"Hey it's me!" Brittany shouts when they walk through the front door. Two seconds later, Brittany parents come rushing out of the kitchen.

"Santana it's so good to see you again, it must have been years since we last saw you" Brittany's mom Karen says while hugging Santana.

"It's good to see you to Mrs Pierce" Santana replies politely.

"Come on Karen, let the girl breathe" Brittany's dad James laughs.

"Sorry, it's just so good to see you again Santana" Karen says while pulling away from Santana. "Let me take your coats" she says while taking Brittany's coat and then Santana's.

"Oh, I brought you guys this" Santana says while handing James the bottle of wine.

"That's very thoughtful of you Santana, you didn't need to do that" Karen smiles.

"Well you're making me dinner so it's the least I could do" Santana smiles back.

"Dinner is almost ready if you two want to just take a seat in the dining room" Karen says.

"Ok mom, I'll just get Santana a drink first" Brittany says just about to go to the kitchen.

"We'll get that, you two can go and sit down" James smiles.

"Ok" Brittany nods before showing Santana to the dining room.

"I know I've never been in this house before but it reminds me a lot of your old house in Ohio" Santana points out while looking around.

"I know, my mom thought it'd make us feel a bit more at home if we kept things pretty much the same when we moved here. I mean it's not exactly the same but the décor is reasonably similar and stuff" Brittany replies.

"So have you and your siblings all moved out then or does anyone still stay here?" Santana asks.

"No we've all moved out now, we still come over here all the time though. I guess we just can't stay away from my mom's cooking" Brittany smiles.

"I'm like that when I go back to my parent's house. I barely ever go out to eat when I'm visiting because I feel nothing can beat my mom's cooking" Santana agrees.

"Oh don't tell my mom that" Brittany laughs.

"Don't worry I won't" Santana says laughing too. It doesn't take long before the dinner is ready and they all sit down and eat together.

"So what's going on in your life at the moment, are you married or do you have kids?" Karen asks.

"Nope nothing like that yet" Santana smiles.

"So how long have you been living here in LA?" James asks.

"Ever since I graduated high school I moved here and have stayed here ever since. It's only been recently that I moved to this part of LA but I have always lived in California since high school" Santana replies.

"Brittany never mentioned you moved here after high school" James points out.

"That's because I didn't know dad" Brittany says.

"I'll never understand why you two fell out because you used to be best friends and you were always so close" James says.

"Dad let's not bring up the past right now, let's just enjoy dinner" Brittany says.

"Ok, sorry" James apologises.

"So how are things at the company going, are you settling in ok Santana?" James asks.

"Yeah it's going not too bad. It's definitely different but I like it" Santana replies.

* * *

Brittany is currently driving Santana home now. Dinner with Brittany's parents was actually really good and Santana really enjoyed getting to know a bit more about their life since she last saw them. However seeing them again has brought back a lot of memories for Santana. She hasn't actually spoken to them since Brittany and her whole family moved to LA during the summer before she started senior year. The day Brittany left Ohio was one of Santana's worst days ever, she was inconsolable and what made it even worse was the fact that she had no one to turn to because no one knew about her and Brittany being together. Everyone just assumed they were both upset because they were such good friends and cared a lot for one another.

Flashback – June 2008

 _"_ _Are your parents all ready and packed up to go?" Santana asks as she and Brittany stand outside of the Pierce's house._

 _"_ _Yeah, they are" Brittany nods._

 _"_ _Where is all of your stuff, is it still in your room?" Santana asks. When Brittany's dad got a new job opportunity in LA the whole family was supposed to move there because it would be a better opportunity for everyone. However Brittany and Santana didn't want to be apart so they convinced their parents to let Brittany stay with Santana and her family until she finishes school._

 _"_ _Santana I need to say something and…"_

 _"_ _Oh there's my dad now with his truck, we should go and get some of your stuff brought down so he can start packing it into the truck" Santana says while walking towards the house._

 _"_ _Wait a minute" Brittany says while pulling on her arm to stop her from going into the house._

 _"_ _What's wrong?" Santana asks._

 _"_ _Santana I need to tell you something really important and you're not going to like it but just let me talk right now ok" Brittany says quietly._

 _"_ _Ok, what's up?" Santana asks._

 _"_ _I'm moving to LA with my parents" Brittany replies._

 _"_ _I'm sorry, what now?" Santana asks shocked._

 _"_ _Santana we are killing one another with the constant arguing and we're not in the same place right now. You want things that I'm not ready for and I don't know if I'm willing to change right now. I'm only sixteen and I feel I've got the whole world against me" Brittany says._

 _"_ _Brittany you can't just leave because we're going through a difficult time. Look I'm sorry for screwing up your dance audition but there will be other ones and there's bound to be lots of people who want you because you're an excellent dancer" Santana says._

 _"_ _It's not just about that audition Santana, it's about everything" Brittany sighs._

 _"_ _What do you mean?" Santana asks confused._

 _"_ _You're becoming too territorial over me and I don't like it. Any time someone tries to talk to me or give me constructive criticism on my dancing, you jump down their throat" Brittany says honestly._

 _"_ _If you're talking about that guy from the other day then he deserved it, he had no right to speak to you like that" Santana states._

 _"_ _He may have been slightly rude in his manner but I did make quite a few mistakes during the routine so he had every right to say how he felt since I was auditioning for him. I fell flat on my face at one point so I'm not surprised he had some negative comments" Brittany reasons._

 _"_ _He was still rude Brittany" Santana says._

 _"_ _I like that you're protective over me at times but it's also a curse at times Santana. I know you want to help me but sometimes it just makes things worse and pushing me into this whole lesbian thing isn't helping either. I'm not ready to come out yet so I'd like you to respect that" Brittany says honestly._

 _"_ _I don't mean to push you but we've been together a year Brittany. I don't think its fair either of you to expect me to continue hiding who I am" Santana says._

 _"_ _I know and that's partly the reason I'm going as well. I don't want to ruin your life by not letting you be who you want to be but at the same time, I don't feel like I want my life to change like that right now either" Brittany says._

 _"_ _We'll work on this Britt, just please don't go" Santana says with tears beginning to run down her cheeks._

 _"_ _I don't know if we can work on things right now, perhaps it's best we take some time apart and then see where we are once we graduate school" Brittany says. She doesn't want to lose Santana obviously but right now things aren't working out and it wouldn't be fair on either of them if Brittany stayed right now._

 _"_ _You said you loved me" Santana says while tears tumbling down her face._

 _"_ _I do love you Santana but you're asking me to do things that I can't do and you're not willing to wait until I'm ready. I just can't take it anymore with all these drunken nights when you tell me that you don't think we should be together if I'm not willing to accept who we are" Brittany says equally as upset as Santana. "I love you but I can't be who you want me to be" she says honestly._

 _"_ _I promise I'll be better just please don't leave me Brittany" Santana pleads._

 _"_ _I promise this isn't forever Santana, I just want to get through school first. I mean I'm only moving to LA and you said yourself one we graduate that you want to move there too so we'll see one another again for sure and we can see what happens" Brittany says._

 _"_ _Take me to LA with you then" Santana says._

 _"_ _That's not the point honey, the point of me going there just now is so we can have some time to be on our own to think about things and work on ourselves. This isn't an easy decision for me but it's the best one right now because if we don't have time apart then we'll ruin what we have" Brittany says. Hopefully once she finishes school and Santana is done too then Santana can come to LA and they can reconnect again. That way they'll have had time to think and concentrate on their studies and hopefully Brittany will feel a lot surer of what she wants. It's not that she doesn't know she wants Santana because she does, she just doesn't know who she really is or what she wants for herself._

 _"_ _If you leave then that means you're breaking up with me and you said you'd never do that" Santana points out while still clearly upset._

 _"_ _We need to work on ourselves individually right now and then we can work on us. Santana I'll never stop loving you and this is only temporary so we have to at least try and fix things this way since nothing else is working right now" Brittany says._

 _"_ _I don't know how breaking my heart is going to fix anything Brittany" Santana states._

 _"_ _Santana I hate this as much as you do but please can you just see where I'm coming from. If there was any other solution then I would do it" Brittany says genuinely. She can't think of any other way to make this better so she figures they should at least try and spend some time apart because it's not forever._

 _"_ _There's bound to be something better than leaving" Santana says._

 _"_ _You're moving to LA next summer anyway after graduation so time is going to fly by and we'll see one another again soon, I promise you I am not breaking up with you forever, this is just a temporary thing until we figure things out on our own" Brittany says while pulling Santana into a hug._

 _"_ _I can't survive without you for a year, please don't do this" Santana pleads._

 _"_ _I'm so sorry" Brittany says crying. "I love you so much but I have to do this" she says._

 _"_ _I love you too" Santana says crying._

"Santana!" Brittany says loudly which promptly brings Santana out of her trance.

"Sorry, what?" Santana says shaking her head to get rid of her thoughts from the past.

"I was asking you if you wanted to come to my place for some coffee or if you need to go home right away" Brittany says.

"Um…isn't Christian home?" Santana asks.

"No he's out tonight at a Christmas work thing after working late so he won't be home until tomorrow" Brittany replies.

"I guess I could go to yours for some coffee then" Santana smiles so they head back to Brittany's apartment. Once they get inside Brittany makes them some coffee and before they know it, they've fallen back into old times where they can just sit and talk about anything without getting bored.

"Do you remember how much fun we used to have at Christmas where your family would come to mine and then we'd all go to your place for the New Year?" Santana asks fondly.

"I do, it was one of the best times of my life" Brittany smiles at the memory. "Hey can I ask something, it's a little off topic of Christmas but it just popped into my head tonight when you were talking to my parents?"

"Sure, ask away" Santana smiles.

"Why didn't you come and find me once you moved to LA, I mean you knew where I was moving to" Brittany asks.

"I figured you wouldn't want to see me after what I said. I told you I never wanted to see you again so I assumed you would have moved on with your life and that you wouldn't be interested in seeing me again" Santana says honestly.

* * *

Let me know what you think. There'll be more flashbacks to come explaining a bit more about what happened.


	6. Best Friends

Chapter 6: Best Friends

Christmas has come and gone so Brittany and Santana are back at work, working hard to get things back on track after the holiday season. They both took a few days off to enjoy Christmas with their friends and families so they're hard at work now trying to make up the lost time. Things seem to be going well between the two of them and they seem to be on the same page business wise so they've got high hopes that they'll be running smoothly again.

"I'd like to meet this business partner of yours Brittany" Christian says as he and Brittany are both getting ready for work.

"Ok but why because you know I don't like to mix my personal life and my professional life" Brittany replies.

"I just think it might be good if I met the person you're in business with" Christian smiles.

"I don't really know many people you work with so I don't really see the need for you to know who I work with" Brittany says. It's not that she's against the idea of her husband meeting Santana, she just really doesn't see the need for it. Even though she swears by not mixing business with her personal life, she doesn't actually mind hanging out with Santana so she's the exception in this case but she'd rather not have Christian mixing with her professional life.

"Look if you're going to be spending this much time at work then can't I just meet her so I know if she's a nice person or not" Christian says.

"I don't think its necessary Christian because we get on fine at work so you have nothing to worry about" Brittany says.

"How about you and I go to lunch this week since we haven't been able to sit down to a meal together in a while and then I can quickly meet Santana when I pick you up. It can just be a quick meeting, nothing too bad" Christian suggests.

"Ok fine but be nice to Santana when you meet her because I don't want you getting all protective over me. I know we haven't seen one another that much recently but that's as much my fault as it is Santana's since everything is so crazy busy at the moment" Brittany replies.

"Ok I'll try and be nice" Christian smiles. "So what day for lunch?" he asks.

"I'll get back to you on it, but definitely not today or tomorrow" Brittany says.

"Ok" Christian shrugs.

"I need to go now ok but I'll see you tonight" Brittany says while kissing him on the cheek.

"Will you be home for dinner?" Christian asks.

"I'm not sure but I'll let you know nearer the time once I know what my schedule is like" Brittany replies.

"Ok that's fine" Christian nods.

* * *

It's the next day and Christian wasn't too happy last night that Brittany didn't manage to make it home on time for dinner so he's hoping that taking her to lunch today will give them some time together. He doesn't start work until later today so he's got time to take Brittany to a nice restaurant or something when she gets her lunch break.

"Is Brittany here?" Christian asks the receptionist when he arrives at Brittany's company.

"She's just went down to the copying room to grab something but you can wait in her office if you'd like, I'm sure she wouldn't mind" the receptionist replies. She's slightly surprised to see Christian here because he rarely ever comes to Brittany's place of work.

"Ok thank you" Christian says while beginning to walk away. "Um…who are you?" he asks while stepping back to double check the name plate on the door to make sure this is still Brittany's office and she hasn't moved rooms.

"You're Christian aren't you?" Santana smiles. She's seen a picture in Brittany's office before of her and Christian so she recognises his face.

"I'm Brittany's husband, yes" Christian replies. "Like I say, who are you?"

"Sorry, Santana Lopez" Santana smiles while holding her hand out.

"Oh the new business partner" Christian nods before shaking Santana's hand.

"Exactly" Santana smiles again. She doesn't know what else to do other than smile otherwise her nerves will show and she doesn't want that. Also she didn't expect to meet him today and she certainly didn't think she'd meet him like this.

"So you're the person who has been keeping my wife at the office for all these late nights" Christian says.

"Excuse me" Santana says slightly offended.

"Brittany never seems to be home these days, she's always working late and going into work early in the morning" Christian explains.

"Chris, I told you that was all my doing so don't blame it on Santana" Brittany says walking into the room.

"We barely see each other anymore Brittany, you're always working or you're busy" Christian says.

"I know but it's a hectic time for us in the business right now. I've just had to deal with my business partner quitting a month before Christmas and now I'm trying to get Santana up to speed with everything. I'm not going to lie, we lost a few clients when Jackson went so we have to work our asses off to gain more clients and to keep the trust of our remaining ones" Brittany says.

"Can we go somewhere and talk?" Christian asks.

"Indeed we cannot, I don't come to your work and interrupt you in the middle of something so I'd rather you didn't do that to me" Brittany replies.

"You said we could go to lunch together this week so here I am" Christian says.

"Tomorrow Christian, I said tomorrow" Brittany sighs.

"I think I'll leave you two alone for a moment, you don't need me here listening to your business" Santana says before quickly leaving.

"I know you mean well ok but we talked about lunch being tomorrow" Brittany says while taking a seat. "I told you yesterday and today weren't feasible for me to go to lunch."

"Well I don't remember us making an exact date" Christian says.

"Santana and I have a business lunch today" Brittany says.

"You two always have lunch together, can't you just do it tomorrow?" Christian asks.

"I meant we have a business lunch with a prospective client so today is quite important" Brittany replies.

"I assume you can't reschedule this lunch?" Christian asks while taking a seat next to Brittany's desk.

"Not really because we need this client more than they need us. They've had other deals from other companies that want to produce their music so we sort have to go by their schedule right now" Brittany replies. If she could reschedule then she would but if she really wants this client then it's best not to.

"If it's to do with producing music then why can't Santana just go alone?" Christian asks. He doesn't see the need for Brittany to go too since it's more to do with the music side of things which Santana obviously runs.

"She can go alone but there are many reasons why it's best she doesn't" Brittany replies. "For 1- this person wants the best of the best so no offence to Santana but only being here for two or three months hasn't quite gave her the recognition she deserves. She's never ran her own company before so some clients may be wary of that. Two- if this person signs with us then they might even come to me to shoot their videos and use some of our dancers when they're performing and 3- Santana hasn't had to handle a business deal like this herself before so she wants me there for support." It's not that Santana can't handle things herself, she'd just rather she had Brittany there since it'll be the first time someone has come to her that she doesn't know. Some of the people that she worked with at her old job came to work here with her but this will be the first time where she could sign someone new for this company.

"So lunch today isn't happening?" Christian asks for clarification.

"I'm sorry but no, it's not" Brittany says apologetically. "I'm still free tomorrow though if you want to go?"

"Yeah that could work" Christian nods. "I'm guessing I should leave you to it since Santana is hovering outside" he says when he notices her just outside the office.

"Actually you better because I didn't even realise the time, Santana and I need to go now so that's why she'll be waiting outside my door" Brittany says while looking at her watch.

"I'll see you at home then" Christian says while walking to the door.

"Yeah" Brittany smiles. "Oh I meant to say, I'm having dinner with my parents on Thursday night since they were busy tonight and I couldn't have dinner with them so I'm assuming you'll come?"

"Um…I'm not sure if I could take another night of your dad talking nonstop to me about golf especially when I'm at work early the next day" Christian sighs. "Can't you just go?"

"The only reason he always talks about golf is because you never bring up anything to talk about with him and he knows you used to like playing golf" Brittany says. "Maybe if you asked him about work or other hobbies he has then he would stop with the golf talk. We've been married five years Christian and you still don't make an effort with him."

"I don't know what to say to him because he always intimidates me" Christian replies.

"Um Brittany, sorry to interrupt but we really need to go" Santana says while poking her head in the door.

"I'm sorry Santana, I'm ready" Brittany says walking over to the door. "I'll see you later ok?" she says to Christian.

"Yeah" Christian sighs before leaving.

"Ok did he seriously just glare at me?" Santana asks laughing.

"He's in a bad mood because I can't make lunch today and he doesn't want to have dinner with my parents on Thursday" Brittany replies. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing personal" she says. It might be slightly personal since Christian doesn't like how much more time Brittany spends with Santana than him but Brittany doesn't want to say that to Santana in case it makes her feel awkward. She doesn't want Santana involved in her marriage problems so she decides its best just not to say much about it.

* * *

Brittany and Christian are currently having dinner with Brittany's parents. She managed to persuade Christian to come because it'd give them some time to spend together because if he didn't come then they'd have even less time together. It's better to have dinner with her parents and his wife than to not see her at all that night.

"So what do you think of Santana, she's great isn't she?" Karen smiles.

"I guess she's ok" Christian replies.

"Don't you like her son?" James asks.

"I just don't like the fact that Brittany never seems to be home anymore. It was fine in the beginning but it's been three months now since Santana came and I feel as the weeks go by the less I see Brittany" Christian says honestly.

"Um…hello" Brittany says waving. "I'm eating dinner with you right now."

"I know that Brittany but this is the first time in two weeks that we've eaten dinner together" Christian says. "Santana perhaps isn't good enough for the job if you're still having to show her the ropes."

"Excuse me, I'll have you know that it's actually Santana that is teaching me stuff right now. She came from a successful company so she's just helping me with some of the things that my end of the business is lacking. I can assure you Santana is more than qualified for the job" Brittany states, offended that Christian would say something like that about Santana.

"So it takes her all night to give you advice?" Christian questions.

"Of course it doesn't" Brittany replies.

"They're probably just catching up on what they've missed in one another's lives and end up losing track of time or something" James reasons.

"Catching up on what they've missed, what are you talking about?" Christian asks confused.

"Well they haven't seen one another in seven years so they'll be catching up" Karen shrugs.

"Haven't seen one another in seven years?" Christian questions confused. Brittany has literally frozen on the spot because she doesn't know what to do. Christian doesn't know about her past with Santana at all, not even the fact they were friends.

"I know if I haven't seen my best friend in seven years then I'd want to catch up" Karen smiles.

"Best friend, seriously what is going on here because Brittany's best friend is Sarah" Christian is really confused now.

"Brittany and Santana have been best friends since they were toddlers and haven't seen one another since we moved here seven years ago, didn't you know?" Karen says confused.

"Apparently my wife kept that from me" Christian says annoyed while looking at Brittany.

"We should go Christian" Brittany says finally speaking up. "We're not discussing this here" she says standing up from the table.

"Sweetheart I'm sorry, I thought you had told Christian about Santana" Karen says apologetically. She feels really bad but she assumed Brittany would have told Christian because she and Santana were so close they used to be inseparable so she figured Brittany would be glad to have her best friend back and probably couldn't help sharing her delight.

"I was going to but my past with Santana isn't what you think so I didn't know how to bring it up" Brittany says. She wasn't exactly going to detail everything that happened but she did think she should tell Christian that they used to know another and were friends.

"I'm sure whatever argument you two had is well and truly in the past so I wouldn't let it come between you. You let whatever happen come between you for seven years so perhaps you just make up and be best friends again" James says. Brittany's parents are still none the wiser as to what happened between her and Santana. They assumed they had a big fight over something but there's no way they would ever guess they used to be in a relationship because Brittany has never shared that with anyone.

"Dinner was lovely mom but I really should speak to Christian in private about this so we should be going now" Brittany says.

"Ok well have a safe drive home" Karen smiles.

"I will" Brittany smiles sadly before she and Christian leave.

"So are you going to tell me why you didn't mention you used to know Santana?" Christian asks as they drive home. "It doesn't seem that hard to just say, _look Christian it turns out my new business partner is actually an old friend."_

"She wasn't just an old friend Christian, she was my best friend and she meant the world to me" Brittany says honestly.

"If she meant so much to you then why did I never know about her?" Christian asks.

"Because every time I heard her name, it crushed me because she wasn't in my life anymore. I couldn't bear to talk about it because I'd just get too upset" Brittany replies.

"So Mike and Tina, they weren't actually your best friends in high school before you moved here?" Christian asks.

"They were in a way but Santana was different. She was the person I told everything to and she was special I guess" Brittany says while smiling at the thought.

"So all the times you told me you used to turn to Mike and Tina for support, it was actually this Santana person?" Christian queries. He still doesn't understand how you can forget to mention someone you practically spend your whole life knowing. "Was it mike and Tina or Santana who told you that marrying me was wrong?" he asks. If Santana meant that much to her then perhaps it was her all along who tried to convince Brittany not to get married. Perhaps he was wrong to blame Mike and Tina when it maybe wasn't them.

"Ok firstly Mike and Tina have helped me through some times but they most certainly didn't say I shouldn't marry you. I was only nineteen when we married so they just wanted to make sure I was ready. It wasn't personal and about you, it was about how young we were, and secondly I just told you that Santana and I didn't speak for seven years so why would she give me advice about a wedding she didn't even know was happening?" Brittany replies.

"I just don't understand why you never mentioned any of this" Christian says shaking his head.

"I told you, I couldn't bear to talk about it because I was still hurt by what happened" Brittany says just as they pull up outside of their apartment. "Perhaps we should talk about this tomorrow once you've calmed down a little because you're not taking anything I'm saying in."

"Maybe we should talk about it tomorrow because you want to avoid it?" Christian snaps.

"If you're just going to get angry Christian then how can I talk to you?" Brittany replies while getting out of the car with Christian quickly following her.

"You're thinking up excuses as to why we shouldn't talk about it" Christian says.

"Stop being immature Chris" Brittany says while walking into the apartment.

"Me, immature?" Christian exclaims. "You're the one who hid this and you're saying I'm immature?"

"I'm going to bed because this is getting out of hand and I'm tired and I have work tomorrow so goodnight" Brittany says while walking to the bedroom.

* * *

After Brittany went to bed last night, Christian was fuming. He doesn't understand why Brittany couldn't just tell him what happened and why she felt she could hide a big secret like that. If Santana was supposed to be a big part of her life then he thinks surely it would be pretty hard to forget about her. Also he doesn't understand why someone would want to hide the fact they used to have a best friend. It's not exactly an outrageous thing to have a best friend so why didn't she just mention it? He wants answers so since Brittany didn't give him much then he's going to find out from Santana which is why he has just walked right into her office this morning.

"Christian what are you doing here, Brittany is in her own office right now?" Santana asks confused. She has no idea that anything has happened so she just assumes he's looking for Brittany.

"What happened between you and my wife seven years ago?" Christian asks getting straight to the point.

"I don't know what you mean" Santana says, her heart dropping. She doesn't know exactly what Christian knows but apparently he has found out that they knew one another before she became Brittany's business partner.

"Apparently you were besties or something so why would she be so ashamed to admit that?" Christian asks.

"Christian what Brittany does and doesn't tell you isn't my business so perhaps you should speak to her about this" Santana suggests.

"Speaking to my wife about this, wow why didn't I think of that" he says sarcastically. "Do you really think if Brittany told me what happened then I'd be here right now talking to you. If I wanted to hang around with arrogant idiots who spend more time with my wife than me then I'd hang around with Mike Chang and his friends rather than yourself?"

"You better not be calling me an arrogant idiot" Santana says angrily. She doesn't care who this man is and whether he is married to her business partner or not. There is no way she is getting talked to like that by someone in her own office.

"What are you going to do about it if I am?" he asks childishly.

"I'll get security to escort you out. If you think just because you're married to Brittany then you can be here and do what you want then you're wrong. Brittany and I are equal in this business so I have every right to throw you out of here" Santana states.

"Throw who out of where?" Brittany says walking into the room. She was reading a document as she walked in so she didn't see Christian right away.

"Your lovely husband here has paid me a little visit" Santana says angrily. Brittany's head instantly shoots up from what she's reading.

"Chris what the hell are you doing?" Brittany questions.

"If you can't answer my questions then maybe she can" Christian shrugs.

"Go back to work Christian, you are causing a scene and making Santana uncomfortable" Brittany states but Christian doesn't move. "Chris I am being serious, I am not asking as your wife, I am asking as the owner of this company so get the hell out of here."

"What's the difference?" Christian asks confused.

"Call security Santana, I don't have my phone on me" Brittany says ignoring Christian's question. As soon as Santana is about to press the button, Christian decides it's best he leaves on his own accord because it'd be pretty humiliating to be seen getting escorted out of his wife's company by security guards.

"I don't care that he's your husband Brittany, I don't want him coming in here again asking me questions like that. Whatever issues you two have are between you and I'd rather not be involved" Santana says honestly.

"I'm sorry about that" Brittany says genuinely. "Last night at dinner, my parents mentioned how much they liked you and said something about us not seeing each other in seven years so then that opened a can of worms because Chris doesn't know anything about us knowing each other before now."

"I see" Santana nods understanding.

"I haven't been able to explain anything to him because he won't calm down. I wanted him to calm down before I told him otherwise he wouldn't listen but apparently he isn't any calmer or less angry today than yesterday" Brittany says. "Anyway he is gone now so perhaps we should get back to work" she suggests and Santana nods.

After spending most of the day together working hard, Brittany and Santana finally decide to call it a day.

"I know you don't like going out on a work night but why don't you come for a drink with me, I know I need one" Santana smiles.

"Ok let me just get my stuff" Brittany replies while grabbing her bag.

"Wait, you're actually coming?" Santana asks happily. Brittany rarely ever goes out after work unless it was just to go to Santana's place to finish a business thing or to her parent's house for dinner.

"Yeah, I mean after today I need a drink too" Brittany smiles.

"Let's go then" Santana smiles and they leave the building together. Santana takes them to a new place she's just found that serve the best cocktails she's ever tasted.

"So are you still a lightweight when it comes to alcohol?" Brittany teases as they begin nursing their second drink of the night while talking.

"I'll have you know I was never a lightweight, I just…ok I can't even lie, I really was wasn't I?" Santana laughs.

"Two drinks and that was it sometimes" Brittany laughs.

"Well actually I can manage two and a half drinks now" Santana boasts.

"Oh wow, rock on" Brittany says laughing.

"Rock on?" Santana smiles, "since when do you say that?"

"I don't really, it just came to me now so I just said it" Brittany shrugs. "Anyway I'm about finished this drink so can you manage another?" she asks.

"Do you know what, let's get shots" Santana exclaims.

"No let's not Santana, we do actually need to work tomorrow" Brittany laughs.

"Oh come on, live a little" Santana smiles.

"No I think we'll have one last drink and that'll do us" Brittany says. "I know its Friday but like I say we're working tomorrow so it's best we make this our last one."

"Ok fine" Santana replies before they order their third drink of the night. However when drink number three is done, they find themselves ordering another and then another and then another again.

"You need to get home now Santana, I think you've had enough" Brittany says while holding Santana's arm to keep her upright.

"I don't want to go home, I was having so much fun with you" Santana slurs.

"I know but you really have had enough to drink so it's best we stop and you get home and try to sleep some of it off before work tomorrow" Brittany says.

As they were leaving the bar, Brittany realised that Santana was probably too drunk to go home alone so she decided that she can just crash in her guest room for the night. As soon as they got back to Brittany's place, they went straight to bed. However when Christian arrived home he got a bit of a surprise when he walked past the guest room to find Santana sleeping in there so he went straight to his bedroom where Brittany was sleeping.

"Brittany?" he says loudly.

"Christian I'm sleeping" Brittany groans.

"Wake up please, it's important" he tells her while sitting on the bed.

"What's wrong?" Brittany asks as she sits up and rubs her eyes.

"Would you like to tell me why your _best friend_ is in our guest room sleeping?" Christian asks while air quoting the 'best friend' part.

"We went for a few drinks after work and Santana didn't handle the alcohol that well so I didn't want her being alone in her state" Brittany replies.

"I was going to say it might have been nice if you consulted me about a stranger staying in our home but she's not really a stranger is she? She's a big part of your past that you failed to mention to me" Christian states annoyed.

"Seriously, grow up Christian" Brittany says rolling her eyes. She is not going over this again especially not right now when she's tired.

"You better explain everything to me tomorrow Brittany before I leave for the weekend" Christian says seriously.

"I'll tell you in my own time but for right now, either go to bed or leave me alone so I can get some sleep before work tomorrow" Brittany replies while lying back down in bed.

* * *

"Morning" Brittany says loudly while smiling as Santana walks into the kitchen.

"Don't shout" Santana says wincing as her head pounds.

"Do you want me to make you some breakfast?" Brittany laughs.

"No you don't have to do that. You've been good enough to let me stay here last night so I don't expect you to feed me as well" Santana says.

"Ok well how about we pick up some breakfast on the way to work. I mean it is 9am now anyway so we probably should be leaving now" Brittany says.

"Ok deal but on the way, I want to pick up some clothes from my place" Santana replies.

"I can give you something to wear if you want, I know we're not exactly the same size but it'll do you for today and it'll save us having to get a cab to your place since we can't drive" Brittany suggests.

"Ok that'll do me" Santana smiles.

"Good" Brittany smiles back. "I'll go and pick you something out" she says before going to her bedroom. As soon as Brittany leaves the kitchen, Christian enters.

"Oh you're still here I see" Christian says while making himself some coffee.

"Yes I'm still here but Brittany and I will leave in five minutes" Santana replies.

"Um I don't think so. Brittany and I need to talk before I go away tonight so I'm afraid she won't be going to work with you" Christian says.

"That's not what she told me and more to the point I'm not going to sit here and argue with you. If Brittany said we're about to leave for work in five minutes then that's what we're about to do" Santana states.

"I've left some clothes on the bed for you Santana so we can just leave whenever you're ready" Brittany says walking back into the kitchen.

"Thanks" Santana smiles before leaving the room.

"I thought we were going to talk Brittany" Christian says.

"I said I'll tell you when I'm ready and right now I'm not so it'll have to be when you get back" Brittany replies. "Now I'd rather we didn't have another argument when we have company in the house so let's not ok?"

"Whatever" Christian sighs while waving it off. He's had enough now and is glad he is going away for a couple of days because he needs a break from all this drama.

As soon as Santana is ready, she and Brittany make their way to work while picking breakfast up on the way. They are now eating breakfast in Brittany's office as they go over some paperwork they need to do before Brittany can go downstairs to begin choreographing a new routine.

"What does that say, I can't see it" Santana says moving her head closer to the paper in front of her.

"Perhaps lose the designer sunglasses then and you'll see it better" Brittany teases.

"The light is too bright in here to do that" Santana replies.

"Let's take a break for a few minutes then and we can finish eating" Brittany suggests.

"Good idea" Santana nods.

"Hey Christian is going away on a work trip tonight for a few days so do you want to hang out or something?" Brittany asks nervously. She's really enjoyed hanging out with Santana recently so she thought they could do it again instead of her sitting at home alone.

"Sure but I don't know if I could handle going out drinking again tonight but you could come to mine and we could order dinner or something and just hang out" Santana suggests.

"Ok, that sounds cool" Brittany smiles.

* * *

"Brittany can I ask you a question?" Santana says hesitantly as they sit eating pizza in Santana's living room just hanging out.

"Yeah fire away" Brittany smiles.

"What's happening between us, I mean we're friends now right but are we just never going to talk about the past?" Santana asks.

"We can talk about the past if you really want to but I don't see how it'll help to bring it all back up. I mean we're in a good place right now and I'd hate to ruin that" Brittany says honestly.

"Do you like hanging out with me?" Santana asks.

"Yeah, it's been really fun. I'm so happy that we can finally be friends again and I think we've slipped right back into the way things used to be…in a good way obviously. I mean we were amazing as friends so I'm glad we can move past what happened" Brittany says.

"The thing is Brittany I don't think we have moved passed what happened. Nothing has been resolved, we've just sort of pushed it aside or even wiped it out of our lives as if it never happened. I feel like we're acting how we used to before we got together and it's like we never had a relationship" Santana says. It's as if they've completely ignored that whole year they were together and went from best friends straight to now.

"If you want to talk about how we left things then let's talk. I mean I'd rather forget about it because I've moved on so to speak but if you feel it helps you to talk about it then that's what we'll do" Brittany says. She'd rather not talk about it but she'd hate for them to lose this friendship they're just beginning to rebuild again so if talking will help then she'll do it.

"When I said I'd never forgive you, I didn't mean it" Santana says honestly. "I'd have done anything to have you back in my life but those stupid words screwed everything up."

"It felt like you meant it Santana" Brittany says truthfully. As soon as Santana said that, it felt like someone had just put a knife through her heart. Fair enough it was her fault that they took a break but she thought she was being reasonable by doing it but to hear Santana say that and feel like she meant it really hurt.

"I was just angry and upset. I didn't know what I would do without you so I lashed out. I know it's too late now but you have to believe me when I say I didn't mean that because of course I could forgive you. I think a small part of me knows you did it for the right reasons" Santana says.

"I'm guessing another part of you still blames me though because you know if I never suggested we took a break then perhaps we could have survived and we wouldn't have broken up" Brittany says.

"I wouldn't say I blame you because you didn't think we would survive if we stayed together any longer but there is a slight part of me that thinks maybe we could have survived. We don't know because we never tried it" Santana says.

"At the time it felt like the best decision but I've regretted it ever since I last saw you" Brittany says shocking Santana.

"You regret breaking up with me?" Santana asks.

"Of course I do, look at me now. Do you really think this is what I pictured for myself" Brittany says.

"You maybe didn't think this is how your life turned out but you're happy now so does it really matter" Santana says.

"Am I happy though?" Brittany asks.

"Only you can answer that" Santana says chuckling slightly.

"I broke your heart and I broke my own heart so how can that make anyone happy?" Brittany says.

"You're not making any sense Brittany because not so long ago you were telling me that you left because of me and you were glad about it but now you're telling me that you regret leaving" Santana says confused.

"I don't regret leaving Ohio because it gave me a chance to find some things out about myself but I do regret hurting you" Brittany says. "I know I said I left to get away from you but that was in the heat of the moment. I never thought I would see you again let alone work with you so I was annoyed because it reminded me of everything I lost."

"We seem to be assuming an awful lot of things instead of actually finding things out. That first day we met when Jackson introduced us, I actually thought you might hate me but you're saying now that you just said things in the heat of the moment because it reminded you of what you lost?" Santana asks.

"Yeah that's exactly it. I don't hate you Santana because you were always special to me but I did hate the place we ended up in" Brittany says honestly. She hates the fact it came to one of them having to leave and for them to break up but it seemed best at the time.

"I don't think we'll ever truly move on from this if we don't get to that place where we can understand what the other felt" Santana says.

"I agree, I do think I should explain things better but I also think you should explain to me why you did some of those things when we were in high school" Brittany says.

"I will" Santana nods.

* * *

Let me know what you think. The next chapter will pick right back up where this one ended.


	7. Talking Things Over

Chapter 7: Talking things over

"You were the only good thing in my life Brittany so I had this extra protectiveness over you because I couldn't risk losing the only good thing I had" Santana says truthfully. "I never meant to screw up those dance auditions for you but I hated the way they looked down on us and how they talked to you. You were an amazing dancer and they judged you before you could even show them how good you were. They just assumed we were two stupid 16 year old kids but what they didn't know was how good you were. They never gave you a chance to show them how talented you were. You were young but by no means a crap dancer" she says.

"At the time it felt so overwhelming when you did things like that. I'm not going to lie I felt a little trapped but now…now I know why you did some of those things. I was naïve to think it was your fault because even if you hadn't said anything I still didn't stand a chance because I was 16 and basically a kid to them. They didn't want a kid, they wanted a young woman" Brittany says.

"I am genuinely sorry for causing problems like that but I always just felt the whole world was against us but that's not your fault. That was my own insecurities eating away at me but I've managed to deal with them now" Santana says.

"Look I'm happy to forget about those things if you are?" Brittany says.

"I am but I do want you to know how sorry I am" Santana replies.

"Yeah me too, the last thing I wanted to do was hurt you Santana" Brittany says honestly.

"I know why you wanted us to spend some time apart so I don't blame you for that. I mean I was incredibly upset at the time but I realise now it probably was a reasonable solution" Santana says. She still doesn't think it was the only solution but it was reasonable because sometimes time apart can allow you to really think about things.

"The day I moved to LA I called you but you didn't pick up" Brittany says.

"I know, I was just hurt and I knew if I heard your voice then I'd end up crying even more" Santana says honestly. "Even though I hated the fact you left, I still loved you so much and even just hearing you say 'hi' would have made me worse I think."

"So you didn't mean it when you said you'd never forgive me?" Brittany asks. They've briefly talked about it before but she wants to really understand things properly.

"You hadn't been gone that long and when you came back for the funeral we both went to, I was still really cut up about us. The thought of seeing you again was so scary because I was so in love with you still but we hadn't spoken since you left" Santana says. "Then when we did talk that day you were telling me about how much LA has really helped you and I was so pissed off. It felt like you thought it was the right thing and you just left me behind so I got angry and said I'd never forgive you for leaving me."

"I didn't mean for you to think that I didn't regret breaking up with you because there was no way I could be happy with that decision. Yes LA really helped me but I was still missing you like crazy and I was still so in love with you" Brittany says honestly. "I was trying to put on a brave face by saying how good the move was because I was trying to convince myself I did the right thing but in doing that I made you think I didn't care about leaving you."

"So you weren't completely happy?" Santana asks.

"Happy without you, definitely not" Brittany says shaking her head.

"I hate myself for saying I couldn't forgive you because if I knew how sad you truly were then I'd have done anything to have you back. I just thought you were happier without me so I was upset and said that in the heat of the moment" Santana says honestly.

"For a while I regretted breaking up with you but I thought you didn't want me anymore so I moved on but it didn't mean that I completely stopped loving you. I just assumed there was no hope left for us so I did what anyone else would do and moved on" Brittany says.

"After saying that, I didn't expect you to wait around for me so you don't have to feel bad" Santana says.

"I still feel bad for being so stupid though, I loved you so why didn't I fight harder for you?" Brittany says annoyed at herself. She wishes she fought harder for Santana and they wouldn't be in this mess now.

"Don't feel bad about that either, I mean I didn't exactly grow up and fight for you either. I just assumed you'd have moved on so I just let myself sit and be miserable without actually trying to get you back" Santana says. It's not that she didn't want to fight for Brittany, she just assumed it was too late.

"Did you ever move on?" Brittany asks. She wouldn't be surprised if Santana did because it was a long time ago that they broke up and Santana is certainly a catch but the way she talks sometimes it's as if she's still hurt by what happened.

"Yeah I'm not going to lie, I have had a fair few girlfriends since we broke up but nothing really worked out properly. I'm very career driven at the moment so sometimes that got in the way of things but it's no secret I hate being single" Santana replies. "I mean I'm only 24 so my goals are to be successful and live my dream just now and maybe once things are on track then I might finally be able to have a serious relationship. I mean I'm not saying if my perfect girl turned up then I'd turn her down but right now I'm not exactly making it my mission to find her."

"I understand" Brittany nods. "You don't want to rush anything."

"This might be too personal but did you ever have doubts about marrying Christian?" Santana asks.

"I guess I did, I mean it wasn't personal to him but I did wonder that maybe I was too young to be getting married but then the more I thought about it the more I realised that there wasn't really anyone else I'd rather marry" Brittany says. "I always thought that one day I'd marry you when I finally came to terms with things but after we broke up and all that stuff, I realised it was Christian."

"Do you think if we managed to get back together after you left then maybe you wouldn't have married Christian?" Santana asks.

"Yeah I think so, I mean I only began dating Christian because I assumed we were over for good. I would never mess him around so if I wasn't certain of us not getting back together then I'd never have got together with him" Brittany says.

"If I never said those words to you that I couldn't forgive you then do you think you'd have moved on?" Santana asks.

"If I knew there was a chance for us then no way would I have moved on" Brittany replies.

"Maybe its best we did eventually move on though, I mean you seem really happy now" Santana smiles.

"Yeah but let's not forget the happy times we had either" Brittany says. There were a lot of times when she and Santana were really good together so they can't deny that.

* * *

"Hi" Christian says walking into the kitchen. He's just got back from his work trip and Brittany is getting ready for work in the kitchen.

"Hey, how was the trip?" Brittany asks. There's still a little awkwardness between them since Christian left before they could sort out their disagreement.

"Yeah the trip was ok" Christian nods. "I'm guessing you're just about to leave now so you won't have time to talk?" he asks. His tone is a lot softer than before so Brittany knows he is just generally asking and isn't taking a swipe at her since most of their arguments are to do with Brittany spending so much time at work.

"Yeah I'm just about to leave but we'll talk tonight Chris, Santana has something on tonight anyway so I doubt I'll be able to work late" Brittany replies.

"Ok good" Christian smiles. "Maybe I could make us some dinner for you getting home" he suggests.

"Yeah that'd be nice" Brittany smiles. "Anyway I should go now, see you later" she says before leaving.

Once Brittany gets to work, she and Santana get started right away. As Brittany mentioned Santana had somewhere to be tonight so they were working pretty hard most of the day until around 4pm when Santana left. Brittany is now back home and is sitting eating dinner with Christian.

"Brittany I need to apologise about my behaviour, I shouldn't be getting jealous of Santana but ever since she came along I never see you anymore. I do appreciate you're busy and everything since things have all been shaken up with Jackson leaving so I really should stop being so childish" Christian says honestly. He just misses Brittany but he didn't mean to act so stupidly.

"I can't lie Christian, seeing Santana again really knocked me in the beginning but now it's been really good to hang out with her again and finally be able to talk to her and try and sort out our issues" Brittany says.

"I guess I'm not used to you spending so much time at work because you and Jackson basically ran two separate businesses so you'd work from home more and I'd see you more but since Santana came along then you spend more time at work" Christian says. Brittany and Santana seem to be working a lot more together than Brittany and Jackson did so Christian isn't used to that. The business now runs as if it's the one large company with two co-owners rather than two smaller companies with two owners.

"Santana and I are going to be working a lot together so I think we're just going to have to get used to it" Brittany says.

"It's just really hard Brittany because we've never had this issue before now" Christian says.

"I know that but I'd be a fool to let my business go downhill again just as things are picking up. I think we're just going to have to grin and bear it for the moment" Brittany says.

"What if I said that I thought of another solution that could work" Christian smiles.

"Ok well tell me" Brittany says interested.

"Well I think I know a way where we could loan some money so why don't you suggest to Santana about buying her out…"

"Christian come on" Brittany says shaking her head in disbelief.

"No just hear me out babe" Christian says. "Before you found out who was buying Jackson's share you wanted to buy it too so why don't we suggest the idea to Santana because maybe this way once you're in charge completely then you can start going back to how things used to be. I know you and Santana have reconnected or whatever but perhaps if we give her a deal she really can't refuse then you'll get the company to yourself and Santana will have enough money to buy her own place. It'd be win-win for everyone and you could still be friends."

"Chris the reason I was home a lot more before was because there was nothing for me to do at work because we were virtually going downhill but now Santana is here then things are really picking up so I actually have work to do" Brittany replies. "There's also the fact that I don't think I could run that company myself, I think I was a little naïve at the beginning and the excitement got to me because it'd take someone better than me to run that themselves. I don't know what gave me the idea that I could handle a company like this myself."

"But…"

"No buts Chris and also do you really think I want to take this company away from Santana. She has worked her ass off since she got here to help me get things back on track so I'm not about to crush her dream just for the sake of a few extra hours at home" Brittany says. They may not be best friends anymore but they are friends so she certainly isn't about to ruin Santana's dream.

"It's not a few extra hours Brittany, its extra days. You never used to work seven days a week so I got to see you but now you work every day all day" Christian replies.

"I know it's not ideal but if I need to work this hard then I need to, I'm not staying away from home deliberately because I do want to spend time with you but sometimes I just can't" Brittany says.

"So what, I just have to put up with having a wife I barely ever see?" Christian asks.

"If that's how you feel about things then for the moment you're just going to have to do that" Brittany says. "Dinner was nice Chris but I'm not in the mood anymore, I'm going upstairs" she says before leaving the table.

* * *

A week later

"Someone just gave me a bottle of wine as a thank you gift for helping them the other day so what do you say, you come to my place and we can open it and go over next week's schedule?" Santana suggests.

"Sounds good" Brittany smiles. "I just need to quickly call Christian and tell him what's happening."

"Ok well while you do that I just need to run and talk to Josh about something, I'll be back in a second" Santana says before leaving to go and talk to a colleague. After a few minutes, she comes back and grabs her things. "Is Christian ok with you coming to my place?" she asks.

"I couldn't get a hold of him so I just left a voicemail, I'm sure he'll get it soon" Brittany replies with a smile.

"Cool, let's go then" Santana says and then they both leave and head to her apartment.

"Wait aren't we taking a cab back to yours?" Brittany asks as she's just realised that they've continued walking along the street instead of getting a cab.

"My apartment isn't that far away so we might as well save money on a cab and just walk" Santana smiles.

"But I've had a hard day so I don't really know if I can walk, my feet are literally about to fall off" Brittany replies.

"Come on, don't be a baby" Santana laughs while grabbing a hold of Brittany's arm to pull her along.

"I'm not a baby, I'm just tired" Brittany states.

"Trust me it really isn't that far to my apartment so let's just power through it" Santana tells her and after a moment Brittany complies because she knows there's no way she'll be able to change Santana's mind.

"Do you know you used to always be a cheapskate" Brittany teases while nudging Santana.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Santana smiles. She knows exactly what Brittany means.

"You used to always make us walk places instead of taking a cab so you could save your money, you had to literally carry me one day because you insisted on us walking home even though I was really tired" Brittany says.

"Oh yeah, I remember that" Santana smiles at the memory. It doesn't take them much longer before they arrive at Santana's apartment. Once they get sat down and Santana pours them some wine, they get straight into discussing work.

"So I'm busy with choreography all day on Monday so I think we're going to have to schedule the meeting until late afternoon on Tuesday or possibly Wednesday" Brittany says. "Wednesday is probably the better option for me but what do you think?"

"I can't do Wednesday because I'm in the studio all day so we're going to have to try and squeeze it in on Tuesday afternoon if we can" Santana replies.

"It really will need to be late _late_ afternoon because I'm with someone until 4pm" Brittany says. "Unless we schedule the meeting to around 6pm and we'll just need to stay late that night" she says.

"Unless you and I just have the meeting and then relay the information to our own staff the next day instead of keeping everyone at work until six" Santana suggests.

"Yeah that might be the best option" Brittany agrees.

"We also need to…" Santana is cut off speaking by Brittany's phone ringing.

"Um excuse me a second, I should get this because it's Christian" Brittany says while picking up her phone before heading to the kitchen to take the call. "Hello" she answers.

"Hey it's me, sorry I missed your call earlier. I was with a customer and I really had to close the deal on the car so I didn't want to answer my phone in the middle of things" Christian replies.

"No that's ok, I get it" Brittany says understandingly.

"I'm on my way home now anyway and I've picked us up some dinner so are you almost home too?" Christian asks happily. He's hoping they can have dinner together since he managed to leave work early enough.

"I'm actually busy right now. I was just calling you earlier to tell you that I wouldn't be home for a while because I'm at Santana's apartment and we're going over stuff for next week" Brittany replies. "Did you not get my voicemail?" she asks.

"I didn't actually listen to it, I just noticed I had a missed call from you so I just called you back" Christian says.

"Well I won't be home for another while yet, Santana and I have got a lot to go through" Brittany tells him.

"So you won't be coming home for dinner then?" Christian asks disappointedly.

"I won't be" Brittany says. She feels bad that he went out and bought them dinner but she did leave a voicemail to say she wouldn't be home soon and she does have a lot of work to get through with Santana.

"What will I do with the food then because I can't eat it all myself?" Christian asks annoyed. It's another night that Brittany won't be home for dinner and it's starting to annoy him. He's really tried to be patient and get used to it after their conversation but he just can't. Nothing seems to be changing and Brittany is still never home anymore.

"You might just need to put it in the fridge and we can eat that for dinner tomorrow" Brittany replies.

"And you can guarantee you'll be home to eat dinner tomorrow?" Christian snaps.

"I don't want to keep having this conversation, the business is finally getting to where I've always wanted it to be so I'm not about to back out now so if I need to spend more hours at work then that's what I'm doing. I am trying Chris to spend more time with you but it's not as easy as you make it sound" Brittany replies.

"As far as I can see you haven't tried Brittany" Christian says before hanging up on Brittany.

"Goodbye to you too Christian" Brittany sighs while rolling her eyes.

"Hey is everything ok?" Santana asks as Brittany walks back into the room.

"Not really, I just had another fight with Chris about me never being home anymore so he hung up on me. It's not like I'm doing it deliberately or anything, we just have so much work to do just now" Brittany says.

"Look if you need to go Brittany then I understand. I am sure we can try and fit this in tomorrow" Santana says. She's noticed a lot of tension in the atmosphere whenever Christian is around so she doesn't want to keep Brittany back if she needs to go and spend time with her husband. "I'd hate to be the cause of these arguments Brittany so honestly if you need to go then I don't mind" she says genuinely.

"Trust me, you're not the cause of this" Brittany states. "But its fine, I want to stay right now because I don't want to leave anything else to the last minute and we end up panicking again. Remember that last meeting we had with a new client? That was just torture" she says.

"Oh yeah, we were very underprepared and I made an ass out of myself" Santana says.

"Yeah so did I so I think its best I stay right now" Brittany says. "Plus it's not that hard to be working when we've got a lovely bottle of wine here" she smiles.

"Exactly" Santana smiles back.

* * *

Let me know what you think.


	8. History is Repeating

Chapter 8: History is Repeating

It's been another tough day for the business but Brittany and Santana are still working hard. "Chris is out tonight and I've got a bottle of wine in the fridge with your name on it, how does that sound?" Brittany asks as she pokes her head in Santana's office.

"I'm there for sure, count me in" Santana smiles.

"Excellent, just come over whenever you're ready" Brittany smiles back.

"No problem, I'll just go home and change and then I'll be over" Santana replies.

"Cool, I'm almost done for the day so I'll be going home in fifteen minutes or so" Brittany tells her.

"Yeah same here so do you want me to pick up some food on my way over?" Santana asks.

"No I've got it covered, I'm going to cook something for us" Brittany smiles.

"Ok well I'll look forward to it" Santana smiles and then Brittany leaves to get back to work. Santana is looking forward to it because Brittany wasn't too bad a cook back in the day so it might be nice to sit down together for a home cooked meal. As soon as Santana is done, she grabs her things and goes home to quickly change and freshen up before heading to Brittany's place.

"I'm still cooking right now so do you mind if we just hang out here in the kitchen for the moment?" Brittany says.

"Of course not" Santana smiles. "So what are we eating this evening?" she asks as she sips on her wine.

"I thought I'd make a nice seafood platter" Brittany smiles.

"Oh…lovely" Santana says smiling slightly. She absolutely hates seafood but she doesn't want to be rude to Brittany if she has made it for them.

"You still like seafood, don't you?" Brittany smiles again.

"Um…yeah, seafood is a favourite of mine" Santana smiles but is inwardly cringing at the thought of having to force this seafood down.

"Relax, you don't need to look so scared" Brittany tells her. "If you don't like seafood then it's ok."

"I'm not scared and I do like seafood" Santana states.

"I'm having you on, I know you never liked seafood" Brittany smiles. "I'm making us lasagne, you still eat that right?" she asks.

"Yeah, I still like lasagne" Santana says breathing a sigh of relief. Thank god she didn't need to eat seafood and Brittany was only joking. "You had me worried there Brittany, I'm not going to lie" she smiles.

"I was just messing honey" Brittany says without even realising she called Santana honey. Santana is a little shocked by it because even though it's a common term of endearment and a lot of people say it, it's just this is the first time Brittany has called her that in years. In fact all she has ever called Santana since they met again is Santana. Calling Santana babe or honey or even baby was natural for them back in high school but nowadays it's always just been Santana and nothing else.

"I have high expectations for this lasagne Brittany because yours did used to be the best I ever tasted so I'm hoping it still is and let me tell you, I've tasted a lot over the years" she smiles.

"I haven't changed the recipe so hopefully it still is the best" Brittany smiles back before topping up Santana's glass.

"I was going to say all this drinking on a weeknight can't be good for us but every day is a weeknight right now since we're pretty much working seven days a week" Santana chuckles.

"I know but at least we're not spending it alone, if I have to work every day then I'm taking you down with me" Brittany replies.

"Well I can't complain because it's been good company so far" Santana smiles.

"Actually speaking of having company, Chris is away this weekend again so do you want to come over and hang out, I bought those chicken wings you like so we can pig out and then regret it all night long" Brittany says.

"Actually I have plans on Saturday night" Santana says regrettably. "Quinn's in the area at the weekend so we're going out for a meal and then we might get some drinks."

"Oh that's ok then. I probably shouldn't have those chicken wings anyway" Brittany says sadly.

"I'm sorry Britt" Santana says apologetically.

"No don't be silly, I've been hogging you a lot this week so it's only right you spend time with your friends" Brittany says reassuring her.

"Actually why don't you come, it must be a while since you've seen Quinn" Santana suggests.

"No that's ok, thanks for the offer though" Brittany says declining her offer. "Anyway, dinner is served now so you can take a seat if you want" she says pointing to the table.

"Oh it looks good" Santana smiles while sitting down. Brittany is trying to keep cheerful but she can't help but show her disappointment. I mean it's only one weekend but for some reason it really bothers Brittany that she can't hang out with Santana. She doesn't know why she feels so sad about it though because it's not like they're joined at the hip anymore or anything…or are they?

"Just tuck in, you don't need to wait for me" Brittany says.

"Hmm…this is so good Brittany, perhaps you're in the wrong line of work. I mean maybe you should be a chef" Santana smiles.

"I don't think I could be a chef, I'd only end up eating all the food before it got to the customers and then I'd be the size of this room" Brittany jokes.

"Apparently this place I'm going to with Quinn is an 'all you can eat' thing so I dread to think what I'm going to look like after that" Santana chuckles. "Do you know you really should come Brittany because it might be fun" she says after noticing Brittany's demeanour change when she mentioned Quinn.

"Quinn and I didn't get on in high school so I very much doubt she'll like me now" Brittany says truthfully. They didn't get on at the best of times so Brittany doubts Quinn will like her now especially since Santana was pretty cut up when Brittany left so Quinn likely hates her even more.

"You and I managed to sort things so why can't you and Quinn" Santana says.

"That's different, you used to like me but Quinn always hated me" Brittany replies.

"I'm sure she doesn't hate you but I'm not going to force you so if you don't feel comfortable coming then fair enough" Santana says understandingly.

* * *

"Well hello there" Quinn says while standing up to hug Santana when she walks over to the table.

"Hey Q" Santana greets happily. "I see you managed to find the place ok then" she says while breaking the hug between them.

"I did indeed but I've got to say the cab ride here wasn't the most pleasant" Quinn admits.

"Yeah I don't take cabs all that often, I either walk or rely on Brittany to ferry me about or on an occasion I'll take my own car" Santana smiles.

"Brittany, hmm I was wondering how long it'd take you to mention her name. We haven't even looked at the menus yet and you've already talked about her" Quinn points out.

"I just said she gave me a ride a couple of times, that's hardly talking about her in detail" Santana replies. "What's your problem with her anyway?" she asks.

"I don't have a problem, I just want you to remember what happened because I'd hate you to get hurt again" Quinn says. It's not that she doesn't want Santana to be friends with Brittany again, she just wants to make sure Santana isn't going to get too close and then get hurt again if Brittany were to leave.

"Ok 1- I don't really want to remember things, I want to forget about them and 2- Brittany had a valid reason for going and you don't know the full story so don't judge please" Santana says. It's not like Brittany has a habit of just skipping town, she just left that one time but Quinn doesn't know the full extent of anything so Santana wants to make sure Quinn remembers that.

"How do we know she isn't going to bail on you again, there would be a lot at stake this time since you co-own a business and everything together" Quinn says.

"Don't act as if you don't know Brittany because her and I were best friends for years which made you pretty close to her too and when has she ever hurt you?" Santana asks. "And before you say anything, hurting me and leaving you to console me doesn't count as hurting you."

"Brittany and I haven't always seen eye to eye just because we're so different and I'll be the first to admit that" Quinn says. "But hurting you like she did just made it ten times worse for me to try and get on with her. I didn't really have anything against her back then but then seeing how upset you got when she left just made me instantly dislike her."

"If I can move past things then I want you to do the same please" Santana states.

"Ok, I'll try" Quinn says genuinely. "It won't be easy but I'd hate to cause an atmosphere or make things awkward for you so I'll do my best."

"Maybe before you go back home then you could meet Brittany again. It doesn't need to be anything big, you can maybe just come to my office tomorrow morning or something" Santana suggests.

"I don't know if that's a good idea Santana" Quinn says honestly. She hasn't long found out that Brittany and Santana are working together and she still doesn't know how she feels about Brittany so it's a little soon for her to see her again. "Look I do have a work thing in this area in a few weeks so perhaps when I come back then, then we can meet again" she suggests.

"Ok fair enough" Santana nods.

* * *

After spending the whole weekend alone, it gave Brittany some time to think about things and what's causing the problems between her and Christian. She's decided that as soon as he gets home then they're going to have a mature discussion about things because there's something she really needs to say to him. She anxiously waits in the living room until Christian gets home.

"Hey babe" Christian says greeting her.

"Hi" Brittany replies nervously.

"Are you ok?" Christian asks while setting his bag down on the floor.

"Christian we need to talk because all this fighting isn't good for our marriage" Brittany says honestly. They've never fought this much before.

"I know that but what do you expect me to do?" Christian asks. "You're never here anymore."

"We're not the same couple we were when we married so I think its best if I…"

"Wait why are there suitcases sitting over there" Christian asks interrupting Brittany.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you Christian, I'm going to stay with my parents for a while because us being in the same house isn't making things any easier and we're ruining our marriage by fighting all the time. I hate to say it but my business is my priority right now not taking care of your every need like you're some child. We're both grownups so we need to act like adults and not as petty children" Brittany says.

"So what you're just going to leave me without even trying to discuss our problems?" Christian asks annoyed.

"I've tried to discuss things with you but you don't listen to me" Brittany says. As much as she tries to tell Christian how important her business is to her, he just doesn't register it or even try to understand what she is saying. "I've already called my parents so they're preparing my old bedroom now so I'm going Christian" she says while walking over to her suitcases.

"Fine, just give up" Christian says angrily while storming out of the room. Brittany then gets her things and quietly leaves. Once she gets to her parent's house, her parents have made some dinner for her but she's too sad to eat just now. Even though she knows it was best to leave and get some space, it still doesn't make it easier to know her marriage might be over.

"Honey you should try and eat something, especially since you've been working all day" Karen says.

"I know mom but I just can't face eating right now, I think I'm going to have a lie down" Brittany replies.

"Um…there's someone here to see you Brittany" James says while walking into the room.

"I don't want to speak to Christian right now, tell him to go home" Brittany sighs while getting up from the table.

"It's not Christian, it's Tina" James replies. "She said something about getting your text and wanted to come and check on you" he says.

"Ok well let her in then" Brittany replies. She had texted Tina earlier to say she was staying at her parent's house for a while so Tina has obviously came over to make sure she's ok and let Brittany know she's there if she wants to talk.

"I got your text Brittany, what do you mean you're staying here for a while?" Tina asks confused as she walks into the room.

"Look let's go upstairs to talk" Brittany suggests. Her parents don't exactly know what's going on either but she's not ready to talk to them about it yet so she'd rather just talk to Tina right now.

"Ok" Tina nods and they head upstairs. "So what's going on Brittany?"

"I need to tell you something" Brittany says nervously.

"Ok" Tina nods again.

"I've never told anyone this before and it's really hard to say so can you please not judge me" Brittany says.

"Of course I won't judge you, you know I'm not like that" Tina smiles.

"Well Santana and I used to be together" Brittany says after taking a deep breath.

"Honey…I know" Tina says while reassuringly squeezing her hand.

"No you're misunderstanding me, I meant we were in a relationship and we were in love" Brittany replies.

"Brittany I already knew that" Tina smiles.

"How could you know, I've never told anyone before?" Brittany asks.

"That's not important right now but I did know" Tina says. "Don't worry though, I didn't tell anyone" she reassures Brittany.

"Why did you never say anything to me then?" Brittany asks confused.

"Because it wasn't my place and I know if you wanted me to know then you'd tell me" Tina replies.

"Oh" Brittany says understanding.

"Is you leaving Christian related to Santana coming back?" Tina asks. She got a text from Brittany telling her that she moved out for a while but why would Brittany bring up Santana right now if the two things weren't connected.

"In a way, I mean ever since Santana got back the business has done so well but that also meant I was spending more time at work so less time with Chris" Brittany replies. "There's also the fact that it reminded me of how good Santana and I used to be when we weren't arguing over things and I miss that."

* * *

Its a few days after Brittany decided to stay with her parents for a while and she's only really told Tina about it. She didn't want to make it a big deal or anything because she didn't want anyone at work to know. Santana has just knocked on the door of Brittany's apartment when Christian answers.

"Hey, can I speak to Brittany for a moment. It's really urgent and it involves the business but I can't seem to get a hold of her. She's not picking up her phone" Santana says.

"Brittany isn't here" Christian says coldly.

"Ok well when she gets home can you ask her to call me right away, like I say it's urgent" Santana says.

"Brittany won't be coming home tonight or the next night or the next for that matter" Christian sighs.

"I don't understand" Santana says confused.

"Didn't your best friend tell you, she left me and is staying with her parents for the moment" Christian replies cheekily.

"She didn't mention anything to me at all" Santana says, slightly hurt that Brittany felt she couldn't confide in her. "I guess I will go to her parent's house then and see if she's there" she says before leaving. As soon as she gets to the Pierce's house, she knocks on the door and just by luck, Brittany answers.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Brittany asks surprised to see Santana but never the less she's happy that she's here.

"I've got an urgent business thing that I need you to sign before tomorrow so can I come in?" Santana asks.

"Of course, in you come" Brittany says inviting her in. They go to the kitchen since no one else is home right now.

"It was nice of you to inform me of your change of address, did you not feel you could tell me?" Santana says as they sit down.

"I didn't want to make a big deal about it plus I didn't think you'd want to know about my marriage issues" Brittany replies.

"We're friends Brittany so I thought you could confide in me but anyway here's the document I need you to sign" Santana says while placing the document on the table before handing Brittany a pen. Brittany signs the piece of paper right away.

"I wasn't sure if it would be awkward for you plus I didn't really know how to bring it up in conversation because we haven't really hung out in a few days and I didn't want to just blurt it out at work" Brittany says honestly.

"So you've left Christian then?" Santana asks.

"Yeah" Brittany nods.

"Do you really want history to repeat itself Brittany, like seriously?" Santana asks.

"I don't know what you mean" Brittany sighs.

"You left me because you needed a break from us and now you've left Christian because you need a break. Do you really want to make the same mistakes that you and I made? Now I'm not saying I blame you for leaving back then but you know how hard it was on us so do you really want to go through that again with Christian?" Santana asks.

"If I stay I'm only making things worse so we need some time apart" Brittany reasons.

"Did time apart help us or did it just put an end to us?" Santana asks. They have moved on from the past a bit but clearly they didn't end up together so if Brittany makes the same mistake again then she's not going to have a husband anymore.

"We're friends now so it didn't end all bad" Brittany reasons.

"That's not the same though" Santana says.

"I want what you have, you don't need a girl in your life to be successful. You're working hard and you're doing amazing so maybe that's what I should do, I should just be alone for the moment" Brittany says.

"It's not actually a choice to be alone Brittany. I know I said I'm not going out of my way to get a girl but it doesn't mean I like being alone either so I wouldn't mind someone in my life" Santana replies.

"I didn't mean to offend you Santana, I just meant maybe I could focus on the business solely if I don't have to worry about marriage problems" Brittany explains.

"But you love Christian so isn't he worth fighting for?" Santana asks confused. Surely Brittany isn't going to give up just like that if she really loves Christian.

"He's not the man I married, he's changed" Brittany states. "I fell in love with him for who he was and I didn't want him to change."

"That's just the progression of life Brittany and the process of aging, people are going to change" Santana reasons.

"I know but I meant he's changed emotionally, he's not the same loving and caring person he used to be. He gets annoyed easily and acts like a child sometimes and he never used to be like that" Brittany replies. "At least with you, I could tell you loved me. Sure I was scared about everyone else's opinions on us but I always knew you loved me no matter what. We both made some mistakes but it was still clear we were in love, that never changed" she explains.

"You can't compare us to Christian Brittany, you admitted it yourself before" Santana says. "We were younger then and in high school plus we weren't married" she says.

"Why should being married change you though, it should solidify your bond together not change who you are" Brittany says. "Honestly I never thought I would say this but being with you was a lot simpler" she admits.

"I don't think it was Brittany" Santana disagrees.

"No it was because like I said, I knew you loved me and I loved you. It was maybe really hard when we were around others but I still knew who you were and how in love we were" Brittany says. "With Christian it is so unpredictable because he just never understands how busy I am. You could see my talent as a dancer and my ambition but all Christian can see is that his wife isn't home. I want him to understand and be interested in what I'm doing" she says. The breakdown of her and Santana's relationship was because Brittany needed to find out who she was but it was never about relationship problems whereas she and Christian are having marriage problems.

"Do you really want to give up on it though, don't you want to sort things out with your husband?" Santana asks.

"Can we even sort things out, can our relationship even be saved in any way?" Brittany asks.

"Well I don't know the answer to that but you should know whether you want to save it or not" Santana replies.

"Honestly…I don't think I do" Brittany sighs. All these arguments between her and Christian are really taking an effect on her so she just doesn't know if it's worth it anymore. She doesn't want a ruined marriage but she doesn't want to stay if she isn't happy anymore either. "I want a divorce Santana" she admits.

"Wow, ok let's just think about this for a second. Are you sure you want a divorce already?" Santana asks shocked. Even though she can see Brittany is having a tough time right now, she didn't expect she'd want a divorce so soon especially after not even trying to fix things. Just leaving doesn't exactly solve anything and Santana knows that from her break up with Brittany.

"I am sure, it's better for everyone" Brittany states.

* * *

Santana is at the reception desk of the company talking to one of the receptionists when she notices Christian walk through the door. After her conversation with Brittany the other day, she doesn't think it'd be wise for her and Christian to talk right now especially when Brittany's at work. She doesn't think either of them would want an audience or the whole company to know they're having some issues. "Christian I don't think Brittany wants to talk right now. Perhaps you should just go home and she'll talk to you when she's ready" Santana says.

"What do you know about Brittany's breakup when she left Ohio?" Christian asks which completely floors Santana. The only person Brittany broke up with in Ohio was her.

"W-What do you mean?" Santana asks nervously.

"Apparently you two were friends in Ohio or whatever so what was the deal with this guy Brittany broke up with before she left?" Christian asks. Santana did not expect him to say that, she didn't think Brittany told anyone about a breakup she had.

"What do you mean by deal, has she said something?" Santana asks confused. Not only is she shocked that Christian knew of some breakup Brittany had but why is he bringing it up right now. It was seven years ago.

"She wants to divorce me because of this person. Apparently things between us have made her realise what she did back then and she regrets it" Christian replies. "I'd like to meet this guy and see what he's got that I've not. I mean does Brittany really think this guy wants her back. She married me for a reason so why would this guy even be involved with her anymore."

"I don't think Brittany broke up with you because she wants someone else, I think she broke up with you because your marriage isn't working" Santana replies. She doesn't really know what to say to Christian because she doesn't know the extent of what Brittany told him about 'her ex'.

"What was this ex of hers like, could I take him in a fight?" Christian asks.

"Go home Christian, seriously" Santana laughs.


	9. In Love?

I had already posted this chapter but I took it down and edited the ending to it because the previous ending didn't seem to fit right with the story.

Chapter 9: In Love?

"What was this ex of hers like, could I take him in a fight?" Christian asks Santana.

"Go home Christian, seriously" Santana laughs in response.

"I'm being serious, could I take him?" Christian asks seriously. He wants to know if there's a lot of competition between Brittany's ex and himself.

"Actually do you know what Christian, I don't think you could take this other person" Santana says playing along with his childishness.

"I'd like to meet him and judge that for myself" Christian replies just as Brittany walks over.

"Christian here wants to know if he could take this ex of yours Brittany" Santana says while smirking at Christian. "What do you think?" she asks Brittany.

"Nope you definitely couldn't take them" Brittany smirks while shaking her head.

"Look if he's bigger than me then I don't care, I'm a strong man" Christian says proudly.

"Oh you need to be more than just strong to beat this person, honestly no offence but I really don't think you could take them in a fight" Brittany replies.

"Wait why are we even talking about this still, I came here to talk to you Brittany" Christian says.

"I appreciate you want to talk but we can't do it here, this is my place of work so we're not about to start an argument in front of all my staff" Brittany states.

"But we do need to talk, you just left and I don't really know where we stand right now" Christian says honestly.

"Christian I told you I wanted a divorce, I think it's pretty obvious where we stand" Brittany tells him. "Look I'm not avoiding talking but like I say we are not doing this here so you go home and I'll call you and then we can see when we can meet up to talk."

"Are you sure you'll have time to call me? I mean Santana is such a big deal right now so you'll be with her all day, right?" Christian says.

"Brittany if he doesn't leave right now it'll be me causing a scene in front of the staff, not him" Santana states angrily. It's a silly comment but all these silly comments are building up so she's had enough of Christian especially when she seems to be the one caught between them. Every argument they seem to have involves Santana and Santana hasn't done anything wrong.

"Christian go home please" Brittany sighs.

"You better call me tonight then otherwise I'll turn up tomorrow and I will make a scene" Christian states before leaving.

"He is an absolute ass, like seriously" Santana says shaking her head in disgust.

"I told him not to come here and he just didn't listen. How can we ever talk if he doesn't listen to what I have to say? If I say something simple like I don't want to discuss things at work and he comes here then how is he going to handle our situation because that's complicated" Brittany says.

"Look let's go to my office just now because people are beginning to stare" Santana says and Brittany nods before following her to her office. "I know you're going through a tough time with him but I don't want to be the cause of your arguments Brittany, it's not fair on me" Santana states while shutting the door.

"I know and the arguments aren't because of you, Christian is just blaming you because he can't admit we both made mistakes" Brittany says.

"That's not an excuse Brittany, I am here as your friend but other than that I don't want to be a part of you two fighting" Santana replies. "I am not the cause of you two breaking up so Christian has to stop with all that stuff."

"Santana I said I understand now will you drop it" Brittany snaps.

"I am just saying how I feel" Santana says while glaring at Brittany.

"Look I'm sorry for snapping, I just don't want to argue with you to" Brittany says regretting snapping at Santana. "I just never pictured my life turning out like this. After I married Christian I always thought he was the person I'd spend the rest of my life with and now look, I want a divorce from him."

"Look maybe you just need some time to think things over so why don't you leave early today?" Santana suggests. "Throwing yourself into work is perhaps making things worse because you don't have time to think about how you truly feel and what you really want."

"I can't leave, we've got too much to do" Brittany says.

"I am sure I can handle everything for one afternoon so go and take some time out" Santana reassures her that the business will be fine. She's not exactly been in charge of the business all by herself for the day but she has been here long enough so she knows she can handle it.

"If you don't mind then I might just go home" Brittany sighs. "Maybe taking a small break from work will let me think about things."

"It will so go home and I'll see you at 8am tomorrow" Santana smiles.

"Thank you" Brittany smiles back but it's not nearly as big as Santana's smile. She just wants this whole Christian thing to be over but she knows he's not going to give up that quickly so it's really stressing her out.

* * *

It's the next day and Brittany's back at work. She's had some time to think the night before so she's a bit clearer on how to handle the situation with her and Christian. She just sitting in her office when Santana walks in.

"Morning" Santana smiles.

"Hey" Brittany smiles back.

"Can we talk now or do you still not want to?" Santana asks.

"I'm sorry about yesterday" Brittany apologises. "I called Christian last night and we're meeting up to talk about things tomorrow. My feelings haven't changed so there's not a lot to talk about from my end but I guess Christian wants me to explain things more."

"How much of our breakup did you tell Christian about?" Santana asks.

"Everything I guess apart from who it was and parts of my insecurity. I mean it doesn't just come up in general conversation that I was once in love with a woman" Brittany replies. "I've only ever been with one girl and that's you, everyone else were guys."

"So what you just said you were going through a tough time and you needed a break?" Santana asks.

"Yeah and he seemed to be a really good friend to me when I was having a hard time. Somehow along the way though we began to see one another as more than just friends" Brittany replies.

"So he knew how much you meant to me then?" Santana asks.

"Yeah" Brittany nods. "And he knew how much my ex meant to me too."

"Ok" Santana says.

"He knew before we got together 'this person' was the love of my life but I wasn't going to exactly tell him that now because that would just offend him. I mean I did love him or maybe I still do a bit but he wasn't the love of my life, you know" Brittany replies.

"Hold on a second, you still feel like I was the love of your life?" Santana asks slightly shocked. She knew they were so in love when they were together and probably would feel like they were the loves of their lives after they broke up but she thought since Brittany got married then Christian would have took over that role.

"Well, yeah" Brittany says.

"So even though you were married to Christian, you still knew you loved me more?" Santana asks.

"I don't exactly like comparing both relationships like that because it sounds like I was just using Christian but honestly I feel like it was worse losing you than Christian" Brittany says truthfully. She doesn't regret what she had with Christian because they were in love but she does feel she lost more when she and Santana broke up. Santana was the one but when she thought she couldn't have Santana then she married Christian. It's certainly not that she meant for him to sound like he was second best but she never thought she'd get Santana back so she moved on.

"Did it take you a long time to get over me back then?" Santana asks.

"Yeah, so long" Brittany replies. "What about you?" she asks.

"Yeah it certainly wasn't easy and to be honest I don't know if I am fully over you" Santana admits.

"What do you mean?" Brittany asks confused.

"Well I've never had a serious relationship since I was with you. I mean yes I've been with girls and we went out for a while but it was never love. In seven years I've never managed to fall in love with someone else then that must mean I'm not completely over you, don't you think?" Santana reasons. It's not by choice that she hasn't found that special person who she's so madly in love with so it must mean she isn't ready to give her heart to someone else yet.

"After the way I left, I don't think you still love me. I know I wouldn't love me if I did what I did to you to myself. I think you just haven't found anyone yet but I'm sure you're over me. If you've got any sense then you'll be over me" Brittany says sadly. She doesn't think there's really any chance Santana would want to be with her again even if she wasn't completely over her.

"We both made mistakes Brittany, it's not all your fault" Santana points out.

"It is though because we wouldn't have been apart for seven years if it wasn't for me leaving" Brittany says.

"Brittany we are going round and round in circles. I think we just need to forget about the past and move on. I mean we're friends again and I'm not walking away from this business anytime soon and neither are you so it's safe to say we're not going to be apart anytime soon" Santana smiles.

"Yeah maybe you're right" Brittany nods. "Let's move on" she smiles.

* * *

Its a few weeks later and Brittany and Christian talked over a few things and haven't seen one another since. They both agreed to give one another space so they can process things but Brittany already knows what she wants which is a divorce.

"What are your plans at seven tonight?" Brittany asks as she walks into Santana's office.

"Hmm…let me think" Santana says taking a pause, "I think I'm going home to eat a meal for one" she replies with a chuckle.

"Well not anymore because I've reserved a table for us at the new restaurant that opened down the street from here. It's had some really good reviews so far so I thought we should try it and see if it lives up to its name" Brittany replies.

"Ok awesome" Santana smiles. "I might actually finish up a little early tonight then so I can go home and get ready if that's ok with you?"

"Of course it is because things have been going well this week so I might leave a little early myself" Brittany smiles. "In fact, we might as well both finish now and get home. Everything else can wait until tomorrow plus our staff members have all been working well this week so it might be nice for them to get to go home early on a Friday."

"I will go and tell my staff the good news then" Santana smiles before getting up from her chair.

"Me too, anyway I'll pick you up just before seven then" Brittany says.

"Ok, I'll see you later" Santana smiles and then Brittany leaves the office.

…

"Well this place looks nice" Santana says while looking around the restaurant with a menu in her hand.

"It does but let's just hope the food lives up to its name as well" Brittany says. After looking over the menus for a few minutes, they both order their food and the waiter bring them some drinks.

"So it's been ages since we went out to eat or had a drink together, what have I missed these last few weeks" Santana asks.

"Not a lot really, I just didn't want to impose on you and your friends when they were here" Brittany shrugs.

"You are always welcome to join us when we go out, I mean they went back home yesterday but when they are back to visit then you can always hang out with us. You don't need to stay away" Santana says.

"Thanks" Brittany smiles. "So are you going back to Ohio any time soon, you haven't seen your parents in a while have you?" she asks.

"Actually my parents are coming to visit next week sometime so I need to speak to you about some time off. I'm not going to take the whole weekend off or anything but I would like at least a full day off" Santana says. They've still been working seven days a week recently but Santana hasn't seen her parents in a while so she wants to at least get some quality time with them since they're here.

"Santana take as much time off as you need to, I'm sure we'll figure something out" Brittany smiles. She knows she's luckily enough to have her parents basically just around the corner from her but Santana doesn't have that luxury so she knows it's important to her to spend time with her parents.

"Thanks" Santana replies happily. She's glad she's going to get time to spend with her family. "Hey why don't you come over and have dinner with us one night, they'd like to see you I think" she suggests.

"Yeah I might just do that actually" Brittany smiles. "I didn't get a chance to see them when they were here at Christmas time so it really has been years since I last saw them."

"They'll just be as excited to see you as your parents were excited to see me again for the first time in seven years" Santana says.

"Well I'm kinda excited about seeing them too" Brittany replies.

* * *

Santana is sitting in her office slightly hung over from last night when her work phone rings. After groaning really loudly at the noise of the phone, she finally answers it. " _Hello."_

 _"_ _Hey it's me"_ Quinn replies. " _You sound a bit worse for wear"_ she points out.

" _That's because I am"_ Santana says.

 _"_ _I tried calling you a few times last night, I'm guessing you were out and that's why you sound so rough over the phone. Am I right?"_ Quinn asks.

 _"_ _Brittany took me to a new restaurant that had just opened up. It was actually really good_ " Santana smiles, remembering last night.

 _"_ _It must have been some hell of a meal you ate because you seemed to be out for hours_ " Quinn replies. " _I don't know how many times I tried calling but it just went straight to the answering machine."_

 _"_ _Well we did get some drinks after it and then Brittany took me somewhere else as well_ " Santana says.

" _Brittany has been very friendly recently, I hope you're being careful Santana because you know I don't want to see you hurt again"_ Quinn says.

" _Quinn enough, Brittany and I are on great terms and neither one of us is leaving any time soon so we'll be fine. I'd appreciate it if you could try and forgive her because she didn't mean to hurt me, she thought it was for the best"_ Santana replies.

" _I don't understand why she would just up and leave. You two were best friends so why would she suddenly want to leave"_ Quinn says confused.

" _It was personal reasons but can we not talk about that anymore, it's not really your business so let's move on"_ Santana says. Quinn doesn't know the full story about what happened and Santana isn't going to tell her right now since it's personal to Brittany.

" _Ok, fine"_ Quinn sighs.

" _Actually was it something important that you called about because I really need to get back to work now?"_ Santana asks.

" _Not really, I just wanted to catch up that's all"_ Quinn replies.

" _Ok well how about we talk later then because like I say, I need to get back to work?"_ Santana says.

 _"_ _Ok, we'll talk later_ " Quinn sighs and then they both hang up. After Santana sorts out a few things, she remembers she had to go and see Brittany about something so she quickly makes her way to Brittany's office.

"I know we've had our differences in the past but I thought we sorted them out now. I mean you're surely not leaving the company now, are you?" Santana teases. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a suitcase sitting next to Brittany's desk.

"I'm not leaving, why would you think that? Look if this is some mean joke because I left Ohio then it's really not funny. That is still a sensitive subject so I don't want jokes made about it because you know why I left" Brittany says confused.

"No it's not that, I was just teasing you because you have a suitcase. I didn't mean any offence" Santana says honestly.

"Oh right…sorry" Brittany apologises. "I didn't mean to think that you thought…"

"It's ok, don't worry about it" Santana smiles, cutting Brittany off. The less they talk about the past the better because they're just running around in circles at the moment with it.

"Ok" Brittany smiles.

"So what's up with the suitcase?" Santana asks while taking a seat at the desk.

"I just thought it might be best if I checked into a hotel for a night or two. Don't get me wrong my parents have been really nice letting me stay there but I feel because I've already been there long enough then I'm imposing now" Brittany replies.

"Oh I doubt they'll think that" Santana assures her.

"Yeah I know but I still feel I should give them a little peace and let them have their house back for a few days" Brittany says. She has been looking for an apartment for herself but everything is so pricey so she wants to make sure it's the right place for her before she commits to it.

"I've got a spare room if you want to crash at mine for a few days" Santana suggests. For some reason the words just slipped right out of her mouth before she got a chance to think about it. Its one thing being able to put their differences to one side about the past for the sake of their business but living together is a whole other thing.

"No that's ok, thanks for the offer though" Brittany declines.

"I'm not asking you to move in with me or anything" Santana says after a minute of silence. "I'm just offering you a room for a few days instead of you having to pay to stay at a hotel."

"I know but we're just getting back on track again so I'd hate to ruin that by us spending even more time together" Brittany reasons.

"You're forgetting I crashed at your apartment one night and to be honest we pretty much spend at least fourteen hours a day together so I don't think spending a few nights at my place will ruin what we have" Santana replies.

"That is true" Brittany nods while thinking over the idea. "Are you sure it'd be ok?"

"Of course" Santana smiles.

"Ok well thanks" Brittany smiles back. "I promise I won't be in your way for long" she says.

"Stay as long as you need to, honestly" Santana assures her.

"Ok" Brittany smiles.

* * *

It's been almost a week since Brittany has been staying with Santana and everything seems to be going smoothly. Santana's parents arrived from Ohio earlier this morning and after getting settled into Santana's other spare room, she took them out for a walk to show them some of her favourite places. They then all had dinner together and Brittany joined them.

"Have you started taking up dancing Santana?" Maria asks as she notices dancing shoes sitting in the corner of the room.

"Oh they're not mine, they're Brittany's" Santana replies.

"Yeah, I still haven't mastered the art of tidying up yet" Brittany chuckles while lifting her shoes off of the floor.

"Your work bag is also littering the hall Britt" Santana points out.

"I'll take that to my room right now then" Brittany smiles.

"Oh Brittany, I didn't realise you lived with Santana as well" Maria says confused.

"I don't, she's just letting me crash here for a few days until I sort myself out" Brittany replies. "I moved in with parents after my breakup but I feel like I'm imposing on them sometimes so Santana said I could stay here for a few days until I get sorted. I'm actually going to view an apartment on Monday so here's hoping I get it" she smiles.

"Yeah but don't put all your eggs in one basket. There's no pressure for you to find the right place because you can stay here as long as you like so you don't need to rush into things" Santana says. She's actually really enjoying having Brittany stay so in a way she doesn't really want her to go anytime soon.

"I know but it is your place so I don't want to outstay my welcome here either" Brittany smiles. Once dinner was over, Santana's parents seemed to be monopolising the TV so Brittany and Santana went to hang out in Santana's room for a while.

"I can't believe we are having to hide out in my bedroom since my parents have decided to take up the rest of my apartment" Santana laughs.

"I know" Brittany smiles.

"Hey, can I ask you a personal question Britt?" Santana says.

"Yeah, sure" Brittany replies.

"Is there any part of you that loves me now?" Santana asks hesitantly.

"Yeah of course, I've always loved you" Brittany replies.

"I didn't mean just generally loving me because you care and we're friends again. I really meant to say, is there any part of you that's _in_ love with me?" Santana asks.

"Um…I don't know" Brittany says not sure how to answer that. She definitely feels strongly about Santana but she has just broke up with her husband so she doesn't know if that's affecting how she feels right now or not. Also though, they do have history so perhaps she never stopped being in love with Santana.

"Ok" Santana nods.

"Are you still in love with me?" Brittany asks.

"I think I am but I don't think that's a good thing" Santana says honestly. "You know how much I care about you and how much you meant to me but there's also a big part of me that's worried about us being anything other than friends. You left Brittany, I know why you left but you still left if you know what I'm saying" she says.

"I let you down big time, I know that. I probably wouldn't trust me either if I was in your position" Brittany states.

"It's not necessarily about trust, it's more about how you would handle things. You left because you were scared and ashamed of being in a same sex relationship and there's no way I could go back to hiding something like that again. I loved you so much Brittany but that was fucking torture" Santana replies.

"Yeah we probably wouldn't work as a couple anymore, we'd probably just fight all the time I guess" Brittany shrugs. She's pretending it doesn't bother her but it really does.

"I'm not saying it to hurt you but if we really were a couple, would anything be different from it was in high school?" Santana asks.

"Look I'm not saying I could shout it from the rooftops but eventually I would be able to handle things because I love you" Brittany says honestly.

"I don't know if I could be with someone who was ashamed to be with me, I mean you said yourself you're not a lesbian" Santana says.

"I know what I said and I still stand by that. Just because I love one girl doesn't define me as a lesbian. God why does everyone think people need to be labelled as one thing or the other. Can't I just be a fucking straight girl who is in love with another woman?" Brittany says annoyed. "I don't walk by girls in the street and wish I could fuck them but I am in love with one girl."

"I know what you're saying but being with another girl means you're in a lesbian relationship" Santana says.

"To me a lesbian is someone who is attracted to other girls and doesn't find men sexually attractive whereas I'm not sexually attracted to women. I've always just had relationships with men with the exception of you so that doesn't have to mean I'm a lesbian" Brittany replies. She doesn't want to necessarily be defined but if she had to then she doesn't think it'd be a lesbian.

"I suppose you could say you're bisexual then" Santana says.

"Santana you're not getting my point, I don't want to be anything. I'd just want to be with you without people constantly judging me" Brittany tells her.

"Life isn't that simple Brittany" Santana says shaking her head.

"Look I promised Tina I would call her about something tonight so I might go and do that" Brittany says walking to the door.

"Ok…um goodnight then" Santana replies.

"Yeah, goodnight" Brittany briefly smiles before going to her room. As soon as she gets there she calls Tina and the first thing they talk about is Brittany's conversation with Santana moments ago.

" _You lost her once Brittany, do you really want to do it a second time?_ " Tina asks.

" _You don't know what it's like for me Tina, it's really not as simple as that_ " Brittany states.

" _You love her, it couldn't be any simpler_ " Tina states getting annoyed. She sees Brittany's point of view but to her she doesn't care what anyone thinks about her or her own relationship, she just cares about Mike and being with him.

" _I can't let her down and that's what I'm going to do. I would be such a bitch if I said it was ok to get back together because I know I would end up screwing everything up_ " Brittany says. " _I never want to intentionally hurt Santana but it'll happen because that's what always happens_."

" _You can't think like that Brittany_ " Tina says.

" _I can't be as open as she wants me to be and that's one of the main reasons why we broke up_ " Brittany admits. She wishes she could be as confident as Santana but she can't.

" _What's the worst that could happen if you were to be in a relationship with Santana where people knew about it_?" Tina asks.

" _I could lose my business, my parents could hate me and Santana might even regret being with me so I'll have lost everything for nothing_ " Brittany replies.

" _Don't be silly, it's clear how much Santana still loves you so if you were to work things out and be together then I highly doubt she'd regret it"_ Tina says.

" _What about my business or my parents?_ " Brittany questions.

" _It's your business so you can be whoever you want to be and as for your parents, they love you no matter what. They also love Santana very much so I doubt they'd have a problem"_ Tina replies. " _Look just at least tell Santana for sure you still love her."_

* * *

That's chapter 9, let me know what you think.


	10. Moving On

Chapter 10: Moving on

Things are slightly awkward for Santana and Brittany now. It's been a few days since they properly talked at Santana's place about whether Brittany is still in love with Santana or not. They're both so confused about the subject and neither seems to want to bring it up at the moment.

"Morning" Santana says as Brittany walks into the kitchen. Even though things are weird between them, Brittany is still staying with Santana just now.

"Morning" Brittany says while briefly smiling.

"I've got a dentist appointment this morning so I won't be at work right away" Santana says while making some coffee for them.

"That's ok" Brittany smiles. "I actually won't be in work right away either because my estate agent called, she wants me to go to her office for a quick chat. I think it's to do with the apartment that we saw the other day."

"So you want to go ahead with buying it then?" Santana asks curiously.

"Yeah I think so because I really like it and it's not like I can't afford it" Brittany says honestly.

"Cool" Santana nods. "If you want to wait until after my appointment then I'm happy to go with you just as an extra pair of ears to make sure they're giving you a good deal. I'd hate for them to try and pull a fast one on you and make you pay more than you need to. I mean I found it all quite daunting so Quinn came with me when I bought this place" she tells her.

"I appreciate that but it's ok, honestly" Brittany smiles gratefully. "I pretty much bought my own house myself because Christian was useless and I got an ok deal with that so I'll be fine."

"Ok" Santana smiles. "I'll see you at work then I guess once we're both done."

"Yeah" Brittany smiles back.

"I need to go and get dressed now but there's some coffee left in the pot so help yourself" Santana says while walking over to the door with her cup in her hand.

"Ok thank you" Brittany nods and then Santana leaves.

Once they're both ready for the day they say goodbye to one another before leaving at the same time but in opposite directions. Brittany goes to see her real estate agent while Santana goes to the dentist.

…

Brittany arrived back at work first so she got started straight away into what she had to do. She's just talking to some of the reception staff just now when she notices Santana coming out of the elevator. She quickly finishes what she was saying before going over to meet Santana.

"Hey, how was the dentist" Brittany asks as soon as she approaches Santana. Santana doesn't verbally respond, she just shrugs. "What's going on?" she asks confused but Santana still doesn't reply. She just walks off to her office and takes a seat behind her desk. "Look Santana, I know things have been a little awkward the last few days but ignoring me is rather immature wouldn't you say?" she says while following Santana. Santana looks at her before grabbing a pen and paper and writing something down. She then passes the paper to Brittany who reads it aloud, " _I can't talk to you right now?"_ She frowns in confusion before looking at Santana who then proceeds to write down another note.

 _I had a cavity so they had to numb my mouth so now I can't talk until it wears off._

"Oh I see" Brittany says struggling not to laugh. It's not that she's making a fool of Santana, she's just laughing at the fact she got the wrong end of the stick.

Santana then begins quickly writing down another note – _it's not funny Brittany. Just come back later and we can talk._

"No honey, I think I want to watch you struggle not to talk because I can see you just want to say something right now" Brittany smirks.

 _Stop teasing me Brittany, just go away and we'll talk later._

"Ok, I'll come back later" Brittany smiles before leaving the office.

…

It's been about an hour since Brittany last saw Santana so she has went to her office to see if they can talk now. She quickly knocks on the door before walking inside. Santana is sat behind her desk working on something on her computer. When she looks up and see's Brittany, she smiles.

"Can you talk now?" Brittany asks.

"Yes I can" Santana replies while nodding.

"Good because this would be an awful place if Santana Lopez couldn't talk" Brittany smiles while taking a seat across from Santana.

"So what's up anyway, is it business related?" Santana asks.

"It's not actually" Brittany shakes her head. "I actually wanted to let you know that everything went well with the estate agent and I can move into the apartment in the next few days."

"Oh right, cool" Santana says sadly.

"Isn't that great, you can finally get your apartment all to yourself and I am finally away from Christian" Brittany smiles.

"Yeah it is great" Santana says with a fake smile. She does want to be happy for Brittany but she's actually liked them living together. Obviously things have been slightly awkward recently but it didn't mean she didn't like them living together.

"So like I say it'll take a few days for things to be processed so you'll need to put up with me until then if that's ok" Brittany tells her.

"That's fine" Santana smiles.

"So anyway, moving on" Brittany says while standing up. "I'm about to go and choreograph something so I won't be available for a couple of hours but if you need me just leave a message with George and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

"I'm actually just about to meet with an artist so I probably will be quite busy myself but I'll check in with you once we're both done and we can discuss dinner arrangements" Santana smiles.

"That's cool, talk to you later" Brittany smiles back before leaving the office. She spends the next few hours choreographing a number before deciding to take a break to get something to eat. Just as she reaches her office she spots Santana walking away from the door. "Hey, Santana" she shouts to get her attention which causes Santana to turn around. "Were you looking for me?" she asks as they walk closer to one another.

"Yeah I thought you might be done by now" Santana replies.

"I'm not actually but I've decided to stop for a break and to get something to eat" Brittany tells her.

"So I assume you won't be leaving any time soon then?" Santana asks.

"No I'm afraid not" Brittany admits.

"I thought we could have went home together and had dinner but if you're busy then I guess we can't" Santana says sadly. She wanted them to hang out a bit more while they could before Brittany moves out.

"Or you could eat with me just now and maybe just catch up on some paperwork or something until I'm done and we can leave together" Brittany suggests.

"Yeah I suppose I could do that actually" Santana nods. "So what would you like to eat, do you want to make something here or order something in?" she asks.

"I'll get George to get us something from that place down the street. I need to get back into healthy foods so I'm going to have salad, is that good for you or do you want something else?" Brittany asks.

"No that sounds good" Santana smiles.

"Ok well while George is getting that for us, why don't we quickly discuss the new advertising strategy that we're working on" Brittany says while opening her office door.

"Ok no problem" Santana says following Brittany into the office.

"I'm just going to quickly call George and get him to get us our food and then we can make a start" Brittany says before proceeding to call George. As soon as she's done, she sits down next to Santana at the desk.

"I know the advertising has been better recently but I still think we need to do more to really get our names out there" Santana states.

"I know what you mean" Brittany nods in agreement.

"I was actually thinking we should make like a commercial or something to really capture the attention of others" Santana suggests. "I mean posters and advertising on the internet are good but we need something to last a bit longer, you know."

"Yeah I agree but do we have the funds for that right now. I mean Jackson didn't leave us in a great financial state" Brittany states. She's all on board for this but at the same time she doesn't want the company to lose money.

"No I think we can handle this Brittany" Santana assures her.

"Ok, I trust you" Brittany says genuinely.

* * *

Its a few days later and it's now time for Brittany to move into her new apartment. After a hard day at work, they collected as many empty boxes as they could find from the company and headed back to Santana's place. They are both now in the guest bedroom packing up Brittany's things.

"I'm going to have to face Christian again soon because I've obviously still got a lot of my things at the house" Brittany says as she and Santana pack up some of her clothes from the closet.

"I can go with you if you want someone there for support" Santana offers.

"Thank you but I don't want him to think we're pressuring him so it's probably better if I go alone" Brittany says honestly. "I'm already divorcing him even though he doesn't want that and I don't want to bring someone with me that he doesn't really like at the minute either because that might just annoy him."

"I suppose that's true but the feeling is mutual anyway because I don't really like him either" Santana states.

"No but you like me so why don't you come over after work tomorrow and we can have dinner together and have a mini housewarming" Brittany smiles.

"I can do that" Santana smiles back. "Will there be wine?" she asks.

"There might be, you'll just need to come and find out" Brittany teases.

"Ok" Santana smiles back.

"We should however get back to packing now. All this talking is slowing us down I think" Brittany jokes.

"Are you saying I can't multitask because I'll have you know that I can" Santana teases.

"I'm not saying that at all, I'm just saying sometimes when you and I get talking we tend to do only that because we like talking to one another" Brittany replies.

"I guess you do have a point" Santana agrees.

After packing up all of Brittany's clothes, they moved onto packing up some other bits and pieces Brittany had lying around. They then took a bit of a break to have something to eat before going back to finishing packing and then loading up Brittany's car with her things.

"So that's the last box in my car" Brittany says while standing by the door of the apartment getting ready to go. "I should probably get going now then" she says while grabbing the last bag of her stuff.

"Don't leave, please" Santana says almost pleading with Brittany.

"Wait, what?" Brittany asks shocked.

"I know things are a little weird right now and neither one of us seems to be talking about where we stand but don't go, just please don't go" Santana states while walking closer to Brittany.

"Santana I'm just moving into my own place, it's not like I'm leaving town or anything. We'll see each other at work all the time" Brittany reassures Santana.

"I know but I've really liked us living together and I feel if you go now then we'll be even more distant than we already are. I'd rather live with you and be awkward than risk barely seeing you except from at work" Santana admits honestly.

"That's not going to happen Santana" Brittany states.

"How do you know?" Santana questions.

"Because even though I'm confused about other things, the thing I am certain about is knowing that I want to be a part of your life" Brittany tells Santana honestly.

"Really" Santana asks and Brittany nods.

"I consider us as friends right now but if we ever have a chance of ever being anything else then its best we're not living together" Brittany admits. "If you were to ever give me a chance and we got to an appropriate place then I'd prefer us to live separately so we can date properly and not rush something."

"I feel like I have just got you back in some way and I don't want to lose you again" Santana admits while starting to get a bit teary.

"Santana this is for the best" Brittany states. "I promise you though you won't lose me ever again. I have no idea what will happen but I'm certain I'll always be in your life in some capacity."

"Do you promise?" Santana asks looking at Brittany.

"I promise" Brittany smiles while wiping a tear away from Santana's cheek.

"Ok" Santana nods while taking a deep breath to calm down.

"It's getting late so I probably should get going and get settled in but I'll definitely talk to you tomorrow at work, ok?" Brittany says.

"Ok" Santana nods.

"Night Santana" Brittany says leaning in to hug Santana.

"Yeah good night Britt" Santana smiles.

* * *

It's the next day and Brittany is already at work. She arrived about 5 minutes ago and went straight to the staffroom where she met her assistant.

"So what was it like last night living alone?" George asks Brittany as they make themselves some coffee.

"I'm not going to lie, it felt weird and kinda lonely. I mean I went straight from my parents' house to living with Christian then I moved back with my parents and then in with Santana so this was really the first time" Brittany admits. "Don't get me wrong, I don't regret it. It's just a bit of difference for me from what I'm used to."

"You'll get used to it I'm sure plus you've been really busy here so I can't imagine you spend all that much time at home" George points out as they sit down at the table with their coffee.

"That's true I suppose" Brittany nods in agreement just as Santana walks into the room.

"Morning Santana" George smiles at Santana.

"Morning" Santana replies while smiling politely back. As soon as she catches Brittany's eyes, she looks down embarrassed. "Hi" she says before quickly walking over to the coffee machine.

"Hey" Brittany smiles while going over to Santana. "How are you this morning?" she asks.

"I'm good, yeah" Santana replies awkwardly. Brittany can sense something is going on so she walks back over to George.

"George I know we haven't quite started work yet but can you do me a favour. There's something on my desk I need mailed as soon as possible so you couldn't grab it for me and take it to the mailing room could you?" Brittany asks him.

"Of course, as long as I can take my coffee with me" George replies.

"Yeah of course" Brittany smiles before handing over her office keys.

"Thank you" George says taking the keys before leaving.

"Ok so let's talk" Brittany says walking back over to Santana.

"What about?" Santana asks nervously.

"What's going on with you, you're acting weird around me this morning. I thought we sorted everything out last night" Brittany says.

"We did, I just feel so embarrassed about last night though" Santana admits. "I was almost crying and I practically begged you not to leave when it was the best thing all round."

"It's ok Santana, I get where you were coming from and I'd love to have stayed with you but if we want to move forward properly then it's best we don't live together" Brittany admits. If they have any chance of being together then they don't want to ruin that by moving in together and putting pressure on things. Its nerve wracking dating someone in the beginning never mind living with them too.

"I just got in the habit of seeing you a lot whether that was at work or at home so I was just worried things would change and it wouldn't be as good anymore" Santana tells her.

"I know but I promised you that we'd be ok so that's what we'll be" Brittany smiles before leaning in to hug Santana.

"So are we still on for tonight?" Santana asks as they pull out of the hug.

"Yeah of course" Brittany smiles. "I'm hoping to leave about 6pm today so just come over whenever you're ready. I mean if you want to come straight after work then that's cool or if you'd rather get changed then that's cool too."

"I'll see how things work out and how much I've got to do today" Santana replies.

"Ok well I need to get to my office but I'll speak to you at some point" Brittany says while picking her coffee up and walking to the door.

"Yeah I need to get started too" Santana smiles.

"See you later" Brittany smiles back before leaving.

…

Brittany and Santana are hanging out at Brittany's place. Things started off really good but then it got slightly awkward because Santana just had to ask Brittany about what happens next. They haven't talked about things for a while now and with Brittany moved out then Santana doesn't want to take a chance anymore in them never continuing their conversation. With Brittany living on her own and them not seeing each just as much as before then this would be the perfect opportunity for Brittany to hide away and pretend nothing is wrong so Santana wants to nip this in the bud before it goes too far.

"I don't know what you want me to say Santana because you made it clear that you weren't really interested in me anymore so how I feel doesn't really matter" Brittany states.

"I didn't say I wasn't interested in you, I said I did still have feelings for you but I didn't think it was a good thing because I don't think I could hide my life like I did in high school" Santana admits. She's just turned 25 so pretending to be someone she's not isn't what she wants anymore. She's an adult and she wants to live her life without worrying.

"Well that's basically saying we'd never really be able to work so like I say it doesn't really matter how I feel anymore" Brittany admits.

"I'm not ruling things out completely if you were to still be interested in me but I'm just saying I don't want high school to repeat itself" Santana says honestly. "So tell me how you really feel Britt because we should talk this over."

"Ok so I'm not 100% sure of anything but I'd be lying if I said my feelings for you hadn't returned because they have" Brittany says while taking a deep breath. "Look I can't promise I'm different from high school but I am willing to work on things if you did ever give me a chance."

"I see" Santana nods.

"If things were simpler would you get back together with me?" Brittany asks.

"If they were simpler yes but like I say I can't pretend I'm someone I'm not and I can't have high school repeating itself because that was so hard after we broke up" Santana replies.

"So where does that leave us do you think?" Brittany asks.

"I have no idea" Santana states. Even though they've just talked, nothing seems to be any clearer about what should happen next. "Perhaps we should just take some time to think because I'm not sure either of us knows what we want right now. I mean I do still like you but I don't know how much I'm willing to give up because like I said after you left it was really hard for me."

"Maybe we just need to make a compromise" Brittany suggests. "I'll try and work on things personally and maybe you could just be a little patient with me."

"Are you willing to do that though?" Santana asks. She doesn't want to sound mean but she knows how bad things were in high school.

"I mean I think we need to try because if we don't then we'll never know" Brittany says. "I know it's a risk but I believe we might have something to fight for."

They continue talking for a while more about the situation. It seems deep down they both want the same thing but they're both scared to admit it. Neither one of them wants to get hurt but at the same time they're scared they'll also regret it if they don't try either.

"Maybe I should go just now and we can talk another time when we haven't been drinking because perhaps things will be clearer then" Santana says while moving to stand up.

"Wait" Brittany says while grabbing her hand so she doesn't move any further.

"What's wrong?" Santana asks but Brittany doesn't verbally respond, instead she pulls Santana closer and kisses her.

"Brittany what are you doing?" Santana asks shocked. She's not mad though, she actually liked it. She just doesn't want to complicate things right now.

"I can be better this time, I promise" Brittany states. "It won't be easy but I want to try."

"What are you talking about?" Santana asks still confused.

"I want us to be together and I'm going to make sure I don't mess everything up this time. I've always loved you but I had some doubts but they were all because of me. I don't want to let you down so I'm going to do my upmost best to make sure I never let you down like I did the last time" Brittany replies.

"Like I said before, I don't know if I could hide things like we used to" Santana says.

"I know and it's not going to be like that" Brittany assures her. "I mean I will need some time to talk to Christian first about us. I think I owe him the truth because he's going to be hurt by this but once he knows then I'm going to tell my parents" she says.

"I see" Santana nods.

"If we just start slow would that be ok?" Brittany asks hopefully.

"That's totally cool with me" Santana says understandingly. "You have to mean this though and really want this because we can't hurt each other like we did before."

"So wait, that means you actually want to give us another shot?" Brittany asks excitedly. "I mean earlier you thought it would be too much of a risk because you couldn't hide anything anymore."

"As long as you can assure me that things will be different and we don't have to hide away for long then I definitely want to be with you again" Santana smiles.

"I promise" Brittany smiles.

"Ok" Santana smiles back. "I do think its best I go home now because it's getting late but I'll see you at work on Monday, ok?"

"Yeah" Brittany nods. "I'll walk you out" she says while following Santana to the door. She walks her out and waits until a cab comes along.

"I'll see you on Monday then?" Santana says turning to Brittany.

"Yeah see you then" Brittany smiles before opening the cab door for Santana. Santana then gets in and once the cab drives off Brittany heads back inside.

* * *

Even though it's Sunday and they don't usually work Sundays, Santana has went into work to use her computer. She intended to do what she needed to do at home but her internet wasn't working so she decided to just go into her office. Before she goes to her office though, she decided to go to the copying room to quickly photocopy something. When she walks in, she nearly gets the fright of her life because Brittany is already in there.

"Hi" Santana says happily but surprised at the same time because she didn't think Brittany would be here today.

"Good morning" Brittany replies smiling.

"It's Sunday, what are you doing here Britt?" Santana asks.

"I could ask you the same thing" Brittany smirks and Santana smiles. "Seriously though, I'm just here to quickly photocopy something because it completely slipped my mind on Friday and it needs to be ready before tomorrow morning."

"Oh right, makes sense" Santana smiles. "Well I'm just here because my internet was playing up at home and I wanted to check my emails because I'm supposed to have a meeting tomorrow but I don't know what time it'll be at."

"You could have used mine you know instead of coming all the way here" Brittany smiles while walking over to Santana.

"I did think of that but when I called you didn't answer so I assumed you were out" Santana replies.

"Well you assumed right since here I am" Brittany smiles. "I won't actually be long here if you want to just wait and then come back to mine with me and use my internet. We could spend some time together and maybe I could make you lunch" she suggests.

"Sounds good actually" Santana replies happily. After a few minutes Brittany finishes up what she was doing.

"That's me done" Brittany smiles over at Santana.

"Good" Santana says walking over to Brittany. "I missed you by the way" she says while wrapping her arms around Brittany's waist.

"I missed you too but we shouldn't do this here" Brittany says while regrettably moving out of Santana's hold.

"There's no one around Brittany, it's just you, me and 2 security guards who are nowhere near this room right now" Santana points out.

"I know but there's a security camera right above us so I can't risk anything" Brittany admits.

"Ok" Santana sighs.

"I'm sorry but if anyone got a hold of that tape then it'll be a disaster especially when we don't fully know what we are yet" Brittany states. They've kissed already and know they want to move forward together but they haven't established what exactly they are yet.

"I just had my arms around you Brittany, I wasn't going to kiss the living daylights out of you" Santana states.

"I'm sorry, how was I meant to know you weren't going to kiss me?" Brittany asks. She just got a little panicked for a second. "Look come back to my place and you can put your arms around me as much as you want" she smiles.

"Ok" Santana nods.

"This isn't me being awkward or going back on my word Santana because I promise I am going to be better this time around. This is just the first day we've seen one another since I kissed you so I think it's ok to be a little nervous right now" Brittany admits honestly.

"I know and I understand" Santana says genuinely.

"Anyway let's go because I'm starving and I didn't eat any breakfast" Brittany says.

"Yeah I'm rather hungry myself" Santana replies. They then leave together and head back to Brittany's place.


	11. Dating

Chapter 11: Dating

Brittany is on her way to Santana's office because Santana emailed her this morning about wanting to see the documentation they have for a client. After collecting the files she needed, she decided to stop by the staffroom and get her some coffee as well before proceeding to Santana's office.

"Morning" Brittany smiles while walking into Santana's office.

"Morning" Santana smiles back while looking up momentarily from her computer.

"Here are the files you wanted Santana" Brittany says while placing them on Santana's desk in front of her making sure to graze Santana's hand as she does so.

"Thank you" Santana smiles while letting their hands linger for a moment before picking up the files.

"I also brought you some coffee because I didn't know if you had a chance to make any when you arrived this morning" Brittany says while placing the cup down.

"I did actually but you know I like my coffee so I won't say no to another cup" Santana smiles.

"Ok" Brittany smiles back. "Anyway as much as I'd like to stay and talk to you, I've got somewhere I need to be but we'll no doubt catch up soon" she says while walking to the door.

"Yeah I need to get back to work too" Santana replies.

"Talk to you later" Brittany smiles and then leaves. She heads back to her office to collect what she needs before going downstairs to the dance studio. Meanwhile Santana takes a sip of coffee before opening up the files she requested. Right at the very top there is a note so she picks it up and reads it.

 _Make sure you finish work early tonight because I'm picking you up at 7pm - B_

As soon as Santana read the note, she starts panicking inside because it was all slightly vague. She doesn't know if this means Brittany is taking her on a date or not. If it is a date then she wants to dress well but if it's just a business thing then she doesn't want to look out of place all dressed up.

For the rest of the day at work, Brittany and Santana are too busy to see each other so Santana doesn't get a chance to ask Brittany about tonight. She decides to just treat it like a date because even if it isn't then she still looks good anyway. She is just putting the finishing touches to her makeup when someone knocks on the door.

"Hey" Santana smiles when she opens the door to Brittany.

"Hi" Brittany smiles back.

"I'm not quite ready yet so you might as well come" Santana says while opening the door wider.

"That's cool, I'm a bit early anyway" Brittany says walking inside. "By the way you look amazing right now" she smiles taking in Santana's appearance.

"Is it too much because your note didn't say what you were picking me up for" Santana asks nervously.

"It's not too much at all, I love it" Brittany smiles. "So are you ready to go now then?" she asks as Santana finishes her makeup.

"Yes" Santana smiles back while grabbing her keys and shutting the door behind her. "So what's going on tonight, is it date or something?" she asks curiously.

"It most certainly is a date except it's an alcohol free one because we have a big meeting in the morning" Brittany replies. "I mean I would have waited until nearer the end of the week so we could have a proper date and have some drinks but I didn't want to wait that long to take you out, I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not, I'm happy to go on a date with you whenever you want to" Santana says genuinely. Just spending time with Brittany is enough for Santana.

"The restaurant is a bit of a drive away, is that ok?" Brittany asks.

"Yeah that's absolutely fine" Santana smiles.

…

They are sitting at dinner together, just talking. It started off just about anything but it's ended up about work because that's all they can talk about at the moment. They're both really enjoying work and working together so it's hard for them to sometimes let go of it and just have fun.

"Brittany…?" a woman asks while walking over to the table interrupting their conversation.

"Claire…hi" Brittany says surprised while standing up to hug the woman.

"What are you doing in this area, you don't usually stray too far away from your neck of the woods" Claire asks curiously as they pull out of the hug.

"I just fancied going somewhere else to eat for a change" Brittany replies nervously.

"Well Gregg and I come here all the time, we just love this restaurant" Claire smiles before looking over at Santana. She and Brittany both stay silent for a moment. "Aren't you going to introduce me?" she asks.

"Right, yeah" Brittany says shaking her head. "This is Santana, she's my business partner" she smiles.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Claire" Claire says holding her hand out to Santana. "I work in theatre production and Brittany helps us choreograph any routines we have so I might see you around some time."

"Well it's nice to meet you too" Santana smiles politely.

"Is this just a business dinner then?" Claire asks looking at the two of them.

"Um…" Santana isn't sure what to say.

"Yes it's just a business dinner" Brittany smiles at Claire.

"I wish all my colleagues would dress us as nicely as you both when we have business meetings. We usually turn up in jeans and a sweater" Claire jokes.

"Well it's a nice restaurant so we didn't want to look like the odd ones out so we figured we'd dress up for a change" Brittany replies. "I should probably get back to my food though before it gets cold but I'll no doubt see you at some point" she says trying to get Claire to leave.

"Yeah my table is just about ready so I should go and see where Gregg is" Claire smiles. "Take care Brittany and give my best to Christian" she says while beginning to walk away.

"I will do" Brittany smiles politely before sitting back down at the table. "So…that was slightly awkward" she says nervously.

"Yeah" Santana nods in agreement.

"Are you mad at me?" Brittany asks worriedly.

"Why would I be mad at you?" Santana asks confused.

"Because I said this was just a business meeting that we were having" Brittany replies.

"It's our first date Brittany and by the sounds of things she seems to think you're still with Christian so I can't blame you for that" Santana says honestly. She knew Brittany wouldn't say it was a date anyway but she does totally understand in this situation.

"I do still promise to try harder than I did before but I feel like I can't be as open about this until I tell Christian about who you really are" Brittany admits.

"Why do you need to tell him anything, you're divorcing the guy?" Santana asks confused. As far as she's concerned he doesn't need to know about their business.

"I was married to him for 5 years and I never even told him that the person I was so heartbroken over was my best friend and she happened to be a girl" Brittany states. "I don't think it would be nice of me to tell the whole world before telling him because like it or not but I did love him and I don't want to hurt him."

"Ok fair enough, I get your point but aren't you afraid he might out you?" Santana asks. "He seemed quite bitter over the break up Britt" she points out.

"I am afraid yes but if he really loved me then he wouldn't do that" Brittany states. "As much as I don't love him anymore I would never tell anyone any of his secrets that he doesn't want people to know."

"Ok" Santana nods.

"Look let's not ruin our evening by talking about Christian right now, let's talk about something else" Brittany says hoping they can change the subject.

"Ok well what would you like to talk about?" Santana smiles.

"I want to talk about you" Brittany smiles back. "What's been going on in your life since high school?" she asks. Even though they've been working together for a good number of months, they've never really caught up properly.

"Not a lot really" Santana shrugs. "I moved to California as soon as I graduated high school and that's pretty much it. I mean you know the record label I used to work for and I was there from high school until I started working with you."

"Ok but where did you live?" Brittany asks interested.

"I rented a place for a while with Quinn and then before I started working with you I moved and bought my own place. I mean it wasn't easy since I was buying into the business as well but it's all going ok now" Santana replies.

"Does Quinn still live in that place then?" Brittany asks.

"Yeah she does but she is hoping to get somewhere more permanent with her boyfriend" Santana replies.

"Speaking of Quinn, can I ask you a question?" Brittany asks nervously.

"Yeah" Santana nods before taking a sip of water.

"Does she know about us?" Brittany asks.

"No I didn't tell her we were dating at the moment" Santana replies shaking her head.

"No I meant does she know about our past together?" Brittany asks. "Does she like…know we were in a relationship and we loved each other?" she whispers.

"No she knows nothing about us" Santana states. "She just thinks I took you leaving really bad and that I also broke up with a girl around that time too. She didn't put two and two together though" she assures Brittany.

"Look I know I don't want a lot of people to know yet but if you ever did want to confide in Quinn then I'd understand" Brittan says honestly. "I know Quinn and I aren't really friends or anything but I do believe she wouldn't say anything to anyone."

"As much as she is my best friend I don't know if I really want her to know everything just yet" Santana admits. Going through the past all over again with someone might just bring up things Santana doesn't want to remember so she doesn't really want to relive that right now.

"Ok" Brittany nods. "Do you know it's weird hearing you say best friend because I was always your best friend so you would never talk about a best friend with me because I was her" she says.

"I suppose it is a little weird" Santana nods in agreement. "Speaking of best friends though, I've yet to meet yours. Isn't her name Sarah or something?" she asks.

"Yeah Sarah" Brittany nods. "We met when I moved here and we went to the same high school. To be honest with you I wouldn't say we're best friends anymore, I'd just say friends. Tina is probably my best friend now. Sarah and I have been gradually drifting apart and we barely see one another now" she admits.

"I'd still like to meet her sometime though" Santana points out.

"Ok well you can" Brittany replies.

* * *

It's been a few days since Brittany and Santana went on their first date so tonight they're going on another one. Santana has decided she will treat Brittany this time since Brittany paid for dinner the other night. They're going to dinner again except Santana is hoping they can get some drinks after it since they're off tomorrow. Santana has just arrived to pick Brittany up but Brittany isn't quite ready yet because she got caught on a phone call when she got home.

"You can switch the TV on if you want because I'll be another 5 or so minutes anyway" Brittany tells Santana.

"I'm ok just sitting here" Santana smiles.

"Ok, no problem" Brittany smiles back. Just as she is about to go and get changed there is a knock at the door. "Oh, dammit" she shakes her head.

"Do you want me to get that and you can get changed?" Santana offers.

"Do you mind?" Brittany asks gratefully.

"Of course not" Santana smiles. "Go and get changed and I'll get this" she says while walking over to the door.

"Thank you" Brittany says before going to her room to get changed. Santana then proceeds to open the door.

"Oh…uh…I'm looking for Brittany" Tina says nervously.

"She's just getting changed but come in" Santana replies as confidently as she can.

"Thank you" Tina nods.

"She shouldn't be a minute" Santana says, hoping that Brittany really won't be any longer than a minute.

"That's ok" Tina replies while standing around awkwardly.

"It's nice to see you again" Santana says nervously.

"You too Santana" Tina says awkwardly. This is the first time they have saw one another since high school. Somehow they have managed not to cross paths since Brittany and Santana have been working together. After Brittany moved here during high school Tina remained in Ohio but her relationship with Santana strained slightly. They weren't the best of friends in the first place but once Brittany left they became distant with one another and eventually lost all contact. Tina knew about them dating so that put her in an awkward position and Santana was just so upset when Brittany left that she pushed people away anyway.

A silence fills the air around them until Brittany walks through.

"Hey who was at…oh hey Tina" Brittany smiles, slightly surprised to see Tina tonight.

"Hey" Tina smiles before handing Brittany a plate. "I was just bringing this back."

"Oh right, thank you" Brittany replies while taking the plate and placing it in the kitchen.

"So what's going on in here then?" Tina asks looking around.

"Santana is just picking me up to go to dinner" Brittany replies.

"Oh a business dinner is it?" Tina asks.

"Ye…" Santana goes to speak but Brittany interrupts.

"No we're going on a date" Brittany replies shocking Santana.

"I won't keep you back then" Tina smiles. "I really just came over to give you your serving dish that I borrowed and I thought maybe we could hang out since Mike is away on business at the moment but we can catch up tomorrow."

"Did the dinner party go ok then the other night?" Brittany asks.

"Yeah it was great and it was really nice having our two families together" Tina replies. "Anyway I'm keeping you back so I'll text you tomorrow" she says walking to the door.

"Ok talk to you tomorrow" Brittany smiles.

"See you tomorrow, bye Santana" Tina replies.

"Bye Tina" Santana smiles politely and then Tina leaves. "Why did you tell her we were going on date?" she asks curiously.

"Because we are, aren't we?" Brittany asks confused.

"Yeah of course but you actually told Tina that" Santana says still surprised by it.

"Tina knows about us" Brittany states.

"What about us, like everything?" Santana asks shocked.

"Yeah she has apparently known since high school but didn't say anything until I mentioned it to her the other week" Brittany replies. "I wanted to be honest with her because we're friends but it turns out she already knew. She didn't want to say anything because she knew I didn't want her to know otherwise I would have told her so she waited until I was ready."

"So those last years of high school after you left she knew about us?" Santana asks.

"Well I don't know when she found out because we haven't actually discussed that yet but I'm guessing she did know then" Brittany says.

"I see" Santana nods understanding.

"She doesn't know much about what's going on with us just now since we don't really know either but she knows I'm still in love with you so telling her we're going on a date is cool because she won't say anything to anyone" Brittany replies.

"Ok" Santana smiles.

* * *

It's Monday again so Brittany and Santana are hard at work doing their own thing. Brittany was choreographing most of the morning so this is the first time she has been in her office today. She is just catching up on some paperwork when she notices Santana walk past. She watches for a moment to see where she is going. As soon as she sees Santana go into the bathrooms, she quickly walks over and goes in there too. She makes sure no one else is in there before locking the door. She waits until Santana is finished before sneaking up behind her and covering her eyes.

"Guess who" she whispers in Santana's ear.

"I know exactly who that is" Santana smiles while removing Brittany's hands from her eyes. "What's going on Britt?" she asks turning around to look at her.

"What's going on is that I'm going to kiss you" Brittany says before pushing Santana into one of the stalls and closing the door. She pulls Santana close to her and kisses her.

"As much as I like this what if someone sees?" Santana asks while reluctantly pulling away.

"There's no cameras in the stalls because that would just be an invasion of privacy. I mean would you want someone sitting watching you use the toilet?" Brittany asks.

"No obviously not" Santana rolls her eyes playfully. "I also don't like someone listening either Britt especially if I've just started dating them" she points out.

"I didn't even hear you" Brittany shrugs.

"That's not the point honey" Santana laughs. She's not one to usually be embarrassed but she's just started dating Brittany again so she wants to keep it fun and exciting.

"We all use the toilet Santana plus whether I heard you or not wouldn't even bother me" Brittany states. "Anyway can we forget about this and can I kiss you again please?" she smiles.

"Of course" Santana smiles back before putting her arms around Brittany's neck and kissing her.

"Now as much as I like this, I think we need to get back to work because it's Monday and I have a lot to catch up on" Brittany smiles while still holding Santana tightly.

"I agree" Santana replies. "Although I thought maybe you could come to my place tonight because I bought way too much at the grocery store and if I don't use up some of the food it will go out of date."

"Ok, I'd like that" Brittany smiles. "Shall I come over at a specific time or just whenever I'm finished here?" she asks.

"I don't know when I'll be done tonight so whoever is finished first should just go to the other's office and we'll see what happens from there" Santana says.

"Ok that's cool" Brittany replies before kissing Santana quickly on the lips. "We should go now" she says while leading Santana out of the stall and then they leave the bathroom.

"You are right Brittany, we will need to get maintenance to look at the lock on that door because we can't have people getting locked in just like we were" Santana says loudly as they leave the bathroom.

"It's ok Santana, I really don't think anyone noticed we were in there" Brittany says chuckling slightly as no one seemed to take any notice of them as they walked past.

"I'm just making sure Britt" Santana says while playfully glaring at her. "Anyway, I'll see you later" she smiles as they approach her office.

"Yeah I'll see you later" Brittany smiles back before leaving to go back to her office.

…

Brittany and Santana are at Santana's place hanging out. They've finished the dinner Santana made so they're now sitting on the couch chatting. They decided against having wine since they've got a lot of work to do tomorrow.

"Are you ok?" Santana asks while placing her hand on Brittany's knee. She's noticed Brittany has been really quiet the last 5 minutes.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Brittany smiles but Santana isn't buying it.

"Come on, I know something is up" Santana says while moving closer to Brittany.

"Honestly it really isn't anything" Brittany assures Santana. "There's something stupid I wanted to ask but it really is stupid and embarrassing so it doesn't matter anymore."

"You can tell me anything Brittany, I won't judge" Santana says honestly.

"Ok well it was about us" Brittany starts. "We're getting on good together, we've been on a few dates now and we're attracted to one another, right?"

"Yeah of course" Santana smiles while reassuringly squeezing Brittany's leg.

"Ok so we're eventually going to take the next step which is kinda nerve wracking for me" Brittany admits. Since she left Ohio, she has only had relationships with guys so this is different for her.

"Look there's no pressure Britt" Santana assures her. "This is for keeps for me so I have no plans to rush into anything especially when we haven't been dating that long."

"It's not so much pressure I'm feeling because I love you and I want to do this" Brittany replies. "It's more a nerves thing than anything or maybe a slight embarrassment."

"Honestly don't be embarrassed because it's not your first time with a girl because we have slept together before. Of course it's been a good number of years but it's still not completely a new thing so don't be embarrassed" Santana says. "I understand your nerves because I'm a little nervous too because it's been so long but we'll be fine, ok?"

"Ok" Brittany nods.

"Good" Santana smiles. They are quiet for a moment before Brittany speaks up again.

"Has it changed?" Brittany asks hesitantly.

"Has what changed babe?" Santana asks.

"Sex with a girl" Brittany replies.

"Honey…" Santana can't help but laugh.

"I'm being serious Santana, it's been over eight years since I've been near breasts that weren't mine never mind going down there" Brittany says embarrassed.

"Well there has been a new lesbian book brought out and it details all the things you've missed since 2008. It's got a bit of a risqué title but basically it details what we like and what we don't like during sex" Santana smirks.

"Ok" Brittany nods. "So…uh…what don't you like anymore?" she asks nervously.

"We don't actually like it anymore when girls use their tongue as much. It's ok sometimes but not like the full time, we like things to be mixed up" Santana replies.

"Oh really?" Brittany asks surprised. "I always liked it when you did that to me so that's quite surprising" she adds.

"Yeah, it just gives us too many orgasms. Honestly it is not pleasant at all" Santana replies with a smirk.

"Oh fuck off Santana" Brittany says sitting back in a huff while folding her arms.

"Baby I'm just kidding" Santana says while placing her hand on Brittany's knee again to reassure her.

"It's embarrassing enough for me to even ask but now you're just making a fool of me. I'm sorry if I'm not all clued up on girls fucking and all that" Brittany snaps.

"Did I ever tell you that you're sexy when you get all worked up?" Santana smiles.

"Did I ever tell you that I used to hate it when you made a fool of me" Brittany huffs.

"I'm just messing honey but I promise you there really isn't anything to worry about. If I thought there was then I wouldn't be joking around right now" Santana tells her honestly.

"Things must feel different for you though since we were last together" Brittany says.

"I'm not going to lie, it is different but I guess that's just because it was never with you" Santana shrugs.

"Ok but there's also the fact we mustn't forget that we're not sixteen anymore, we're grown women" Brittany points out.

"Yes I do know that but honestly there's nothing to worry about" Santana replies.

"I'd like you to tell me though if it doesn't feel good anymore. I don't want you to be nice about it, if I suck at it then I want you to tell me so I can be better next time" Brittany says.

"I like it when you suck" Santana winks.

"You really know how to make someone feel better about themselves, honestly you're so kind" Brittany says sarcastically.

"Honey I'm only teasing you because I know there's nothing to worry about. I'm sure it'll still be as good as it used to be" Santana reassures her.

"Ok" Brittany says taking a deep breath.

"Britt, whenever you're ready then I'm ready" Santana smiles while moving a strand of hair out of Brittany's face.

"I am ready and this is going to sound weird but I feel like we shouldn't do anything until things are completely over with Christian" Brittany admits. "I know we're already dating but I feel like it's still cheating if we were to do anything more before I make sure Christian knows where we stand."

"Ok" Santana nods. "I mean if you still feel that way then even dating me is kinda cheating Britt and kissing me."

"Honey…" Brittany sighs. "Look maybe cheating isn't the right word because he does know we're over but I just feel ready bad if I were to do this before making sure he understands. I'm actually meeting with him tomorrow to collect the rest of my stuff from the house so I'm going to make things clear and tell him the truth."

"I see" Santana replies understanding Brittany's point.

"I promise after tomorrow we can finally relax more and until the divorce is over that will be the last time I see him for a while because we're leaving it up to the lawyers" Brittany replies.

"So you are actually divorcing him at the moment, you've not just split up?" Santana asks curiously.

"Yeah I mean it, we're over so I've already started the divorce proceedings" Brittany assures Santana.

"Ok" Santana smiles, reassured that Brittany and Christian will soon be fully over.

* * *

As soon as Brittany finished work, she quickly went home to change before leaving. When she got to the house, she knocked on the door and after a second Christian answered.

"Hey, in you come" Christian says cheerfully.

"Thank you" Brittany smiles while walking inside.

"I'm not pressuring you or anything but I made a start on packing up some of your stuff. I didn't want you doing it all yourself" Christian says.

"Thank you" Brittany smiles gratefully. "You really didn't need to do that though because I don't think there's a whole lot here that I need to pack. Maybe just some more clothes and some personal items."

"You've also got half of our wedding gifts to get and things like that. I mean all the TVs and furniture are still here so don't you want your share?" Christian asks.

"No you can keep it all because I don't want this to be a bitter thing where I demand everything that we share" Brittany admits. Although she is entitled to that stuff, she wants this divorce to be as smooth as possible. They both signed a prenuptial agreement anyway so what is rightly hers is already hers anyway.

"Brittany I want you to have what you deserve. I don't want this to be bitter either so you are due half of this stuff and you'll get half of the money I make on the house when I sell it, I promise you" Christian assures her.

"Wait…you're selling the house?" Brittany asks slightly shocked.

"Yeah there's no way I need a house this size all to myself plus I'll save a bit of money this way if I move somewhere smaller" Christian replies. He can afford to stay there but she just doesn't see the point though when he could save money.

"I guess that makes sense" Brittany agrees.

"I mean if you want it then you can have it but I assumed since you bought your own apartment then you wouldn't want this place" Christian says.

"I mean it's a lovely house but it would just be weird for me living here because it'd always remind me of us and I feel like it's best to move on now" Brittany states.

"Is this really what you want Brittany?" Christian asks shocking her slightly. "Are you sure we can't work through this because we were good together?"

"Chris, we are over now" Brittany says softly. "I did love you and I do still care about you but we're not the same anymore and there's no point dragging that out when it wouldn't work. I'd be holding you back because you deserve someone who really loves you."

"You're the only one who understood me and who really knew me. No one is ever going to know me like you do" Christian states.

"That is not true, there will be tons of girls who would love to be with you" Brittany reassures him. "I promise you that you will find someone. You're just worried right now but things will get better and you will find someone, I just know it."

"I guess in time I might but right now I don't want anyone else" Christian sighs.

"You shouldn't waste you're energy on me because you deserve someone better, trust me" Brittany tells Christian.

"You're a great person Brittany" Christian smiles.

"I'm really not and what I'm about to tell you is going to make you realise that" Brittany says before taking a deep breath to compose herself before she finally admits the truth.

"What are you talking about?" Christian asks confused.

"Santana is the person I was so heartbroken over when I was in high school" Brittany admits nervously.

"I'm sorry, come again?" Christian asks shocked. Surely he must have heard wrong or something he thinks to himself.

"I was in a relationship with Santana when I left Ohio" Brittany sighs. "She was the person I was so cut up about when I moved here, it wasn't a guy" she admits.

"Ok" Christian nods. "I'm a little shocked to be perfectly honest with you because you never mentioned a thing about liking girls."

"I don't really like labels necessarily but technically I don't like girls. I just happened to fall for someone who was a girl but that doesn't mean what you and I had meant nothing because I really did love you Christian" Brittany replies.

"So the reason you're not with me isn't because I'm a guy is it?" Christian asks slightly confused.

"Of course not" Brittany assures him. "This whole thing has nothing to do with gender; it's to do with us just now working anymore. We want different things and we don't seem to understand what one another wants."

"Ok but answer me one thing" Christian says. "Did you leave me for her?" he asks.

"No I didn't" Brittany states. "Things weren't working for us before that. I fell for Santana after you and I broke up, I can assure you."

"Whoa ok, back this thing right up" Christian shakes his head. "You're actually saying you're with her right now?" he asks.

"Not officially but we have went on a few dates" Brittany admits. "I'm not going to lie she did make me realise a few things but I wasn't with her when you and I broke up. She just made me see that if I didn't want what happened to her and me, to happen to us then I needed to change things. I realised though that I didn't want to change things because things wouldn't work with us and we weren't as happy as we used to be."

"Ok" Christian nods.

"I know this is a stupid question but how do you feel, are you ok?" Brittany asks.

"Well I'm not any worse than I was before you got here. My feelings haven't suddenly changed for you in the space of 10 minutes but if you're asking if I feel any different about your revelation then I guess not. It actually makes sense now why you never actually told me the person's name or much about then" Christian replies honestly.

"Look you're entitled to do whatever you want and say whatever you want but I really would appreciate you not telling anyone about me and Santana because I'm not ready for the world to know" Brittany says.

"I'll admit I am shocked about what you told me and I don't like that we've broke up but I'm not about to tell the world you're a lesbian because somehow I don't think that's for me to say" Christian states.

"First of all thank you but secondly I'm not a lesbian, not really" Brittany points out.

"You're dating another woman aren't you?" Christian says.

"Yes but I wouldn't say that makes me a lesbian, especially when I was married to a man for 5 years" Brittany replies. "Anyway that's not the point right now, what is is that we need to find a way to move forward properly because I don't want to fight you Christian. Like I said I still care about you as a person because I've known you a long time."

"Yeah I want us to make this as easy as possible" Christian agrees.

…

Brittany has finally put all her things into her car and now she's getting ready to drive off. Things with her and Christian seem to be ok so she's hopeful the divorce will be as simple as possible. Instead of going home, she wants to visit her parents first so she's decided to call Santana to quickly check in before driving to her parent's house.

 _"_ _Hello"_ Santana answers.

 _"_ _Hey, it's me"_ Brittany replies cheerfully.

 _"_ _How's things?"_ Santana asks.

 _"_ _Ok actually. I've just spoken to Christian and everything seems to be ok. I told him about us and our past and he said he won't say anything. Technically I wouldn't blame him if he didn't anyway because I lied to him for years but he said he won't"_ Brittany says.

 _"_ _I guess that's good now"_ Santana says positively.

 _"_ _Yeah it is and honestly it feels like a weight has already been lifted for me"_ Brittany admits.

 _"_ _Yeah it will have"_ Santana agrees.

 _"_ _I'm just thinking since I've had the courage to tell Christian tonight and I've still got some momentum so to speak then I'm going to tell my parents right now"_ Brittany replies.

 _"_ _Honey are you sure?"_ Santana asks worriedly. She doesn't want Brittany rushing into something if she doesn't need to.

 _"_ _Honestly I want to tell them"_ Brittany assures her.

 _"_ _Ok, if that's what you want"_ Santana says.

 _"_ _I better go just now because I haven't driven off yet and I don't want to leave it too late to see them"_ Brittany says. _"I'll call you later to say goodnight, ok?"_

 _"_ _Ok, talk to you later"_ Santana says.

 _"_ _Bye Santana"_ Brittany says and then they both hang up. Once Brittany arrives at her parent's house she knocks on the door before walking inside. She finds her parent's in the kitchen so they make some coffee before sitting down to talk.

"So as much as we like the surprise visit, what's going on?" Karen asks.

"Yeah I mean it is a work night so we assumed you'd be either working late again or in bed going to sleep before an early start tomorrow" James states.

"There's something I need to tell you before and if I don't do it now then goodness knows when I actually will" Brittany admits.

"What do you mean?" Karen asks confused.

"I'm just going to come right out and say it, pardon the pun, because I'm beginning to overthink things so I'm about to lose what courage I have so I might as well just blurt it out before I never admit it" Brittany says taking a deep breath.

"I don't follow" James says frowning in confusion.

"Before we left Ohio I was in a relationship with someone and she wasn't a he" Brittany rushes out.

"Oh, wow" Karen says surprised.

"I know I should have told you sooner but I didn't know how to or what to say. I mean it's not like I have been lying all these years because my feelings for Christian were 100% real" Brittany tells them honestly.

"I know times may have been different then so it might not have been easy but we aren't the kind of people to judge Brittany so you can tell us anything" James says honestly.

"I know and it's not about you guys, it's about me. I didn't tell you or anyone really about it because I didn't understand it. To be honest with you I still don't really because like I say, I did love Christian but I also loved this other person" Brittany replies.

"You don't need to define who you are Brittany, you just have to be you" Karen smiles.

"I get that but I don't think I'm comfortable with the world knowing who I am yet. It's one thing to finally admit to family but it's another for everyone to know" Brittany says worriedly.

"Then don't tell the world right now" James says. "Just wait until you're ready because it's no one else's business but yours."

"Ok" Brittany nods, feeling slightly better that her parents understand.

"I don't mean to be cheeky but I'm a little surprised you dated someone back in Ohio" Karen admits.

"Oh thanks mom" Brittany chuckles. "I didn't realise I was that bad of a catch" she jokes.

"That's not what I mean honey" Karen smiles. "What I mean is that you practically spent every day with Santana. You were joined at the hip sometimes so I'm just confused about when you found the time to date this other girl" she points out.

"Well mom…I…um" Brittany is finding it hard to find the right words.

"She was the person you were in love with wasn't she?" James smiles.

"Yeah dad, she was" Brittany smiles thinking about Santana.

"Hold on, you and Santana?" Karen asks slightly surprised.

"Yes me and Santana" Brittany nods. "That's the whole reason why I felt how I did in the beginning when Santana and I got into business together. I didn't know who it was and she didn't know it was me either so it shocked us both. In the end though, it's made us see things more clearly."

"So everything is ok with you both now?" Karen asks.

"Yeah everything is great now" Brittany smiles.

"Well I appreciate how hard this was for you Brittany so we're both proud of you" Karen smiles before leaning over to hug Brittany.

"Yeah we are proud of you" James says joining in on the hug. "Honestly though, talk to us if you ever need to because we might be more understanding than you think" he smiles.

"I will" Brittany nods. "I love you both and thank you for not judging me."

"We would never do that sweetheart" Karen tells her genuinely as they all pull out of the hug.

…

After explaining the situation a bit more, Brittany decides it's best to leave because it's getting late and everyone has work in the morning. She didn't quite go into detail about how she's dating Santana just now because she doesn't want to jinx things since it's so early but she did tell them that she and Santana are in a really good place and that she's happy. She's feeling a lot better about things so she's decided to take another detour before going home. The minute she gets to her destination, she runs into the apartment building and up the stairs before knocking on the door.

"It's Brittany" she says announcing herself at the door. She doesn't want to give Santana a fright since someone is knocking at her door so late.

"Hi" Santana says surprised as she opens the door. "Everything ok?" she asks concerned.

"It's perfect so can I come in?" Brittany smiles.

"Yeah, sorry" Santana chuckles before moving out of the way to let Brittany inside. Once she comes in, Santana shuts the door behind them.

"Nice pyjamas by the way" Brittany winks.

"Shut up" Santana says while playfully hitting Brittany's arm. "I didn't expect company this late at night so I was just getting ready for bed."

"Well I thought a visit would be nicer than a phone call but if you are wanting to go to bed soon then I can totally go. We can just see one another tomorrow after work when we have more time" Brittany says honestly.

"No I like that you're here" Santana smiles while leading then to the kitchen to get Brittany a drink. "I just didn't expect anyone so I thought I might as well get changed and comfortable but it's not like I'm tired or anything."

"Good" Brittany smiles back before pulling Santana closer to her and kissing her.

"You're right, this is better than a phone call" Santana smirks.

"What do you say we take this to your room?" Brittany suggests while moving a strand of hair behind Santana's ear.

"I mean there's no rush if you don't want to, honestly" Santana assures her.

"I do want to, trust me" Brittany smiles while looking deep into Santana's eyes before leaning in to kiss her softly on the lips.

"If you want to then I want to" Santana smiles.

"Good" Brittany says before taking Santana's hand and leading them to her bedroom. Santana climbs onto the bed and pulls Brittany with her. Just as Brittany straddles Santana's waist and leans down to kiss her, her phone vibrates in her pocket. "Well that's just great" she says rolling her eyes while leaning back to get her phone out.

"Just ignore it" Santana smiles while pulling Brittany towards her.

"I would but it's really late at night so it must be important" Brittany replies while reluctantly answering the call. " _Hello…ok sure…yeah I'll be right there…thank you, bye."_

"What's going on babe?" Santana asks in concern.

"I need to go to the hospital, something has happened with Christian" Brittany replies while getting off the bed. "I know this is ruining things but I can't not go, I mean it sounded like he's been really hut."

"No that's ok, I'll talk to you tomorrow or something" Santana smiles in reassurance. Of course she wants Brittany to stay but at the same time they've obviously called Brittany for a reason so she can't not go.

"Ok" Brittany smiles before rushing out the door.


	12. A Rocky Start

Chapter 12: A Rocky Start

As soon as Brittany arrived at the hospital, she ran over to the desk to find out where Christian was. They hadn't really said much to her on the phone other than that Christian was hurt and he was in hospital getting checked over.

"Hi, I'm looking for Christian Smith. I got a phone call that he was here and had been hurt" Brittany tells the woman behind the desk.

"Are you a family member?" the woman asks.

"I'm Brittany Pierce…Brittany Smith I guess since he's still technically my husband so yeah I guess I'm still family at the moment" Brittany replies.

"Well he's in that room right over there" the woman replies so Brittany rushes over to the room. As soon as she walks in she sees Christian lying on the bed.

"Chris what happened?" Brittany asks worriedly.

"It looks worse than it really is Brittany, honestly don't worry" Christian assures her. "After you left tonight I got a call from some friends and they asked if I wanted to grab a few beers so we went to a bar. Just as we were leaving this other guy started causing trouble because he was drunk so I tried to get him to calm down and stop being so aggressive to the girl behind the bar. Eventually I got him to settle down but as he turned to walk away, he pushed past me and I fell and hit my head on a table" he says.

"So how bad are things then, do you have concussion?" Brittany asks.

"No, it mostly just bruising and a cut to my forehead. It needs stitches but they're going to let me out soon" Christian replies.

"Ok well I'll wait and drive you home" Brittany states.

"You don't need to do that Brittany, just go home" Christian smiles. "I told them they didn't need to call anyone because I was fine but since you're still listed as my wife in my records then they assumed I'd want you here."

"I'm happy to stay Chris" Brittany says genuinely. They're not together anymore but it doesn't mean she doesn't care about him when he's hurt.

"You really don't need to do that, honestly" Christian shakes his head. "As soon as I am stitched up and ready to go then I'll call a cab so you might as well go home and get to bed."

"Nonsense, I'm staying right here to make sure you're ok" Brittany states. "I'm not taking no for an answer, ok?"

"Ok" Christian laughs.

Even though Brittany wants to be with Santana right now she feels like she owes it to Christian to be there for him right now. It was her decision to divorce and she was the one that piled everything onto him tonight so she doesn't want to just get up and leave. She has Santana now and she's happy but Christian is alone so the least she can do is give him a ride home since she's here anyway.

"So what were you up to tonight when you got the call, they didn't wake you up did they?" Christian asks.

"No I wasn't asleep" Brittany shakes her head. She doesn't want to go into the full story right now because she's just broke the news to him that's she's with Santana so she doesn't want to then make things worse and say they were actually together before she came tonight.

"That's good" Christian smiles.

"So is there anything I can get you, some water maybe or ask about painkillers?" Brittany asks.

"Perhaps you could find a doctor or nurse to see what's going on" Christian states. "If it's only bruising and a cut then why is it taking so long for me to get out of here?"

"I'll go and find out" Brittany smiles while squeezing Christian's hand in reassurance.

"Ok" Christian nods and then Brittany leaves the room.

* * *

Brittany didn't get home until really early in the morning since she was waiting at the hospital with Christian so she's decided she'll get some rest and go into work later. She hasn't got anything important on today anyway so she's going to go to bed for a few hours.

Meanwhile Santana has been hard at work going through some stuff in the music studio with a client. They're almost finished with the album so the client is going to come back and finish tomorrow. She's now in her office updating some files but she's finding it hard to concentrate because she thought she might have heard from Brittany by now.

She understood the situation last night with Christian but she is starting to get a bit pissed now. She's not the guy's number one fan but she is a bit concerned that it could have been something serious. She hasn't heard from Brittany all day and she doesn't want to call and annoy her but she does think Brittany should have the decency to update her on the issue.

After waiting another half an hour, Santana decides she's just going to call Brittany so she can put her mind at rest. However when she does, it goes straight to voicemail so she leaves a quick message.

" _Hey it's me, can you give me a call back whenever you can please."_

Just as she is putting her phone away she notices George coming out of Brittany's office so she quickly goes after him to talk to him. "Hey George, wait up" she says loudly to get his attention.

"Hey" George smiles.

"You're Brittany's assistant so you pretty much know where she is most of the time, right?" Santana asks.

"If it's regarding work then I always know where she is but outside of that I don't" George replies. "Is everything ok?" he asks.

"It's no big deal really, I just wondered where she was" Santana shrugs trying to play it cool.

"I'm not exactly sure myself about what's going on but she said she'd definitely be here at some point and I've just to do what I was meant to do this morning anyway" George replies.

"Ok I guess I might see her later then. Anyway I'll let you get back to work" Santana smiles. She's not smiling on the inside right now but she doesn't want to cause a problem at work.

"Just because I'm Brittany's assistant doesn't mean I can't help you with anything so if you need me then I can help because I know you don't have an assistant yet" George says genuinely.

"Thanks George but I'll be ok today" Santana smiles gratefully.

"Ok well back to work I go" George smiles and then walks off.

…

"Morning…or should I say afternoon" Brittany says cheerfully while walking into Santana's office.

"Hi" Santana says while looking up from her computer.

"Have you had any lunch because I haven't eaten and I'm starving" Brittany says while taking a seat at the desk across from Santana. "I'm going to get George to get me something from the canteen downstairs, shall I get him to get you something?" she asks.

"No thank you, I've already eaten lunch" Santana replies coldly. She doesn't want to seem immature here but she can't pretend what Brittany is doing is ok. She waltzes in there like nothing has happened and Santana hasn't been waiting on her calling her back or updating her.

"I'm getting the sense you're mad at me or something" Brittany says frowning in confusion.

"Whatever gave you that idea" Santana rolls her eyes.

"Honey what's going on?" Brittany asks while moving around to the other side of the desk to be closer to Santana so they can talk.

"It's 1pm Brittany, I called you like 2 hours ago and asked you to call me back but yet you haven't. I mean fair enough if you were busy but you're obviously here now so you've had the time to do it" Santana states.

"I never got your message until I was leaving so instead of wasting a phone call I decided to come straight here to see you instead" Brittany replies.

"Ok" Santana shrugs.

"Look I never got home until 4am so I decided to go to bed for a few hours because I can't work with no sleep. However a few hours turned into 6 so as soon as I woke up, I had to shower and get ready and came straight here. It wasn't until I checked my phone for the time that I realised I had a missed call from you and a voicemail" Brittany says honestly.

"Ok, fair enough" Santana nods. She understands how that might happen but she's still pissed because Brittany has not mentioned Christian once yet and she thinks she should tell her what's going on.

"I'm going to quickly text George and tell him what I want to eat and then maybe I can sit here with you and eat lunch" Brittany smiles while beginning to text George.

"Look I've got too much work to do Brittany" Santana sighs.

"Ok well you can work while I eat. We don't even need to talk, I can just sit in the corner quietly" Brittany suggests. This way they can spend time with each other but still do what they need to do.

"Fine, do whatever you want" Santana says not in the mood to fight Brittany on this.

"Am I missing something here because I feel you're still mad at me" Brittany says frowning in confusion again.

"I am still mad at you Brittany, I'm pissed actually" Santana states.

"Why, what have I done?" Brittany asks curiously.

"You leave me late at night to rush off to the hospital but don't think you owe me an explanation the next day. I'm not trying to be nosy Brittany but I think I deserve to know what's going on" Santana says seriously. "You're supposed to be with me now, not him so I think the least you can do is say something about what happened last night."

"I'm sorry, I didn't think you liked me mentioning Christian" Brittany says. She didn't think Santana would want to hear about her ex considering she and Brittany are together now.

"I'm not totally cold hearted Brittany. I think when someone rushes off to the hospital late at night then it is worthy of knowing about" Santana states.

"Ok, like I say I'm sorry. I just misjudged things" Brittany apologises.

"So what happened to your husband then?" Santana asks leaning back in her chair to look at Brittany.

"Ex-husband Santana" Brittany points out, "and he got knocked over by some drunk guy when he was out for a few drinks last night and hit his head. He's going to be fine though and he's back home already."

"Ok" Santana nods. "Does he have no family nearby?" she asks.

"Yeah his parents live 20 minutes away" Brittany replies.

"But he just fancied having you by his side rather than them I assume" Santana says slightly annoyed. I mean if the guy is fine then why did they call Brittany in such a panic?

"No he didn't want anyone there, it was a nurse who called me. I am still technically his wife so she assumed he would want me there so she called me. Chris didn't know about that until just before I turned up" Brittany states.

"Ok, sure" Santana nods.

"Excuse me, I can tell by your tone that you don't believe me but I can assure you Santana that's all it was" Brittany says honestly.

"I believe it from your end but are you honestly telling me he didn't secretly like that you were there. I mean the guy was practically begging you to take him back a few weeks ago" Santana states.

"As soon as he found out last night that I had moved on then he let it go. He doesn't want me Santana and I don't want him so let's let it go" Brittany says getting frustrated.

"Look Brittany I…" Santana can't finish her sentence because she's been interrupted.

"Oh there you are Brittany, I was looking all over for you because you didn't say where you were" George says while walking into the office out of breath. "I've got your lunch but you failed to mention where you were eating it so I've been up and down the corridors looking for you" he says while placing the food on the desk.

"I'm sorry" Brittany replies genuinely. "Look I've only just arrived and you've probably been working your butt off this morning while I wasn't here so why don't you go home early" she suggests.

"It's ok, you don't need to do that" George assures Brittany.

"I'll pay you for the full day, I promise" Brittany smiles at George.

"Are you sure?" George asks.

"Of course, now go have some fun or whatever" Brittany states.

"Ok well I'll see you both tomorrow" George smiles before leaving.

"So where were we?" Brittany asks while turning to Santana and smiling.

"Look let's just talk later because you need to eat and I need to work" Santana states. "I need to go back downstairs to the studio in ten minutes anyway."

"Ok well I'm going to be here quite late tonight since I've only just got here but you're welcome to come to my place later tonight and we can talk if you want" Brittany replies.

"No let's just leave it for today because you might be here late but I've been here since 7am this morning doing things so I think I'm just having an early night tonight" Santana tells her.

"You're not just saying that to avoid me are you?" Brittany asks.

"I'm not because I do want to finish the conversation, I just don't have the time or energy for it today anymore" Santana replies honestly.

"Ok well I'll be here bright and early tomorrow so I'll just see you then I guess" Brittany says looking at Santana.

"Yeah, you will" Santana nods.

"I might as well just go back to my office and eat then if you're not sticking around here much longer" Brittany points out.

"Ok" Santana replies.

"If I don't see you again today then I'll definitely see you tomorrow" Brittany says while walking towards the door. "Take care Santana" she smiles before leaving.

" _Take care?"_ Santana questions aloud to herself. "How about, I love you?" she shakes her head before going back to what she needed to do.

* * *

Brittany and Santana haven't spoken since yesterday but Brittany is hoping they'll get a chance to talk today. She's been busy with choreography all morning but she's got a bit of a break just now so she's going to find Santana and see if she wants to talk. She doesn't think they'll have a whole lot of time to talk right now but she's hoping to at least speak to her and maybe make arrangements to hang out after work and talk.

"Hey, are you busy" Brittany asks as she knocks on Santana's open office door.

"I am a little bit just now actually" Santana replies. "You can come in for a couple of minutes though" she tells Brittany.

"Thanks" Brittany smiles while walking into the office. "So how are you today?" she asks nervously.

"I'm ok, you?" Santana asks.

"Yeah ok but I miss you" Brittany admits.

"I miss you too" Santana smiles.

"I don't have a lot of time to talk either just now but do you want to catch up after work and maybe grab dinner or go to one of our apartments?" Brittany suggests.

"Why don't I cook us something and we can talk more privately at my place. It'll be easier with just the two of us to talk properly and not have everyone at other tables in the restaurant listening in" Santana replies.

"That's cool but maybe at the end of the week we could go out somewhere and have a proper date" Brittany suggests.

"Sounds good" Santana smiles. "So shall we say 7pm at mine or will you not be finished by then?" she asks.

"No 7pm sounds good babe" Brittany smiles. "Anyway I better get back to work" she says while walking towards the door.

"Take care Britt" Santana smirks.

"Um…ok" Brittany frowns in confusion while turning around to fully look at Santana.

"What?" Santana asks as she notices Brittany looking at her weirdly.

"Why did you just smirk when you said that?" Brittany asks still confused.

"Because it's just a funny expression to use when one of us is about to leave" Santana replies.

"Then why did you use it?" Brittany laughs.

"Because that's what we say to one another nowadays isn't it?" Santana states.

"I'm sorry babe but you're talking in riddles so you've lost me" Brittany shakes her head in confusion.

"Yesterday after you left my office you told me to take care. I would have rather you said you loved me than take care" Santana says.

"Well I didn't know just how mad you were at me but I wanted to say something nice to make you know I still cared about you. I would have said I loved you but I just didn't know if it was too weird to say that yet. I mean I know we both know we love one another but we've not really said those three words since we admitted it you know" Brittany points out.

"I suppose we haven't" Santana agrees. "Anyway I'll talk to you later" she smiles.

"Yeah see you later" Brittany smiles back and then leaves.

…

Brittany and Santana have just finished clearing up from dinner so they're now sitting in the living room talking. They decided to eat first and then they would talk once they were done.

"Right now, how do you feel about everything?" Brittany asks turning to give Santana her full attention.

"I'm worried about things Brittany. You and Christian are still married and you and I aren't really anything at the moment so I feel like no one to you right now" Santana admits. "We can't even say we're best friends anymore because we still haven't fully gotten to know one another again. I mean there is still a lot I don't know about you and you don't know about me" she points out.

"You are not no one to me Santana, I promise" Brittany reassures her while placing her hand on Santana's knee. "You are everything to me but I just can't shout it from the rooftops."

"I feel like the other person in a relationship and it's horrible" Santana says.

"I've got no doubt it would be horrible but you aren't the other person though. There are only 2 of us in this relationship" Brittany replies. "I don't even have a relationship with Christian anymore."

"But you do Brittany because you're still married and until you divorce then there's always going to be you and Christian" Santana sighs.

"I love you Santana" Brittany says while gently placing her hand on Santana's cheek to turn her head around. "I just want to be with you and only you" she says while leaning in to kiss Santana.

"But…"

"No buts babe" Brittany shakes her head. "Do you really think I would be trying to get you into bed right now if I wanted Christian?" she asks with a slight smirk across her face.

"I believe you don't want him but I don't believe he doesn't want you" Santana states.

"Santana I don't know what to say to you right now to convince you. I mean I am still kinda married right now so I know where you're coming from but at the same time if you believe I don't want him then that's all that really matters. I want you and you want me so can't we leave it there just now?" Brittany replies.

"We can't just pretend the situation isn't what it is" Santana states.

"As soon as my divorce is over then this will be better" Brittany replies. "Look it's just the two of us just now and there's no Christian involved so let's take advantage of that" she smiles while caressing Santana's thigh.

"I know what you're trying to do and it won't work" Santana points out.

"Yes it might" Brittany nods.

"Sex won't make this go away Brittany" Santana states.

"Not even a little bit" Brittany asks before leaning in to gently kiss Santana's neck. "It won't even make you feel the tiniest bit better?"

"I doubt it" Santana shrugs.

"It used to always make you feel better" Brittany smirks while moving so she can straddle Santana. "I used to be able to cheer you up in no time" she says while placing Santana's hands on her hips. She then reaches behind Santana's head and takes her hair out of her ponytail.

"That may be so but I'm not 16 anymore so you can't win me round that easily" Santana says while moving her hands from Brittany's hips and gently running them up and down Brittany's back.

"But maybe I can because I'm not 16 either anymore so maybe I have a few other tricks up my sleeve" Brittany smirks while looking at Santana for a moment before leaning down to kiss her neck again.

"But you're not wearing sleeves Britt, you have a sleeveless shirt on" Santana points out teasingly.

"Ok smartass you know what I mean" Brittany rolls her eyes playfully before lifting Santana's arms in the air and gently lifting her shirt over her head. She throws the shirt to the floor before looking Santana up and down for a second. "That is definitely a better view now" she says before tracing her fingers over Santana's collarbone.

"That might be so but this isn't going to make our problems go away" Santana says slightly more seriously. She does want this but she wants to make Brittany aware that they do need to sort things out more.

"Look I need to know if you really don't want this or if you're just teasing me because I don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of you" Brittany states worriedly. She's not really getting a clear vibe of what's going on so she doesn't want to misread the signals and do something wrong.

"Trust me you'll know when I'm saying no and this isn't it" Santana smiles reassuringly. "But just don't think the conversation is forgotten about though."

"Ok" Brittany nods.

"Once we get back to that place we were once in then you'll know how to read me better but right now I do want this and I want you" Santana smirks while pulling Brittany closer to her. She gently pulls her head down and kisses her.

"Do you think we should take this elsewhere because I want it to be special?" Brittany asks, suddenly turning shy since things are heating up.

"Yeah we should go to my room because this couch isn't all that comfortable anyway" Santana smiles.

"Ok" Brittany nods while getting off of Santana's lap and standing up. She then quickly slips off her shoes and tosses them to the side next to her purse.

"Good idea" Santana smiles while slipping her shoes off before leading Brittany to the bedroom. "Why don't you get comfortable on the bed and I'll draw the window" she says while kissing Brittany's cheek and then letting go of her hand to walk over to the window.

"Ok" Brittany smiles while walking over to the bed.

"I doubt anyone would see in the window since we're so high up but I'm not taking the chance anyway because this is between you and me and no one else" Santana says while sashaying over to the bed.

"You look so sexy right now" Brittany points out as Santana gets onto the bed and straddles her hips.

"The feeling is mutual" Santana smiles. She kisses Brittany gently while reaching down to the hem of her shirt. She pulls away slightly and pulls Brittany's shirt over her head. "We don't need that anymore" she says while taking in Brittany's appearance.

"I guess we don't" Brittany smiles up at Santana. She then moves down the bed slightly as Santana begins kissing down her body. Santana stops for a second as her hand traces a scar on Brittany's abdomen.

"Britt, what happened?" she asks in concern as she looks up at Brittany.

"Oh it's no big deal, I just had an appendectomy a few years ago" Brittany smiles. "The scar may be visible but it really doesn't bother me, I kinda like it actually" she shrugs.

"I kinda like it too" Santana smiles before kissing the area gently.

…

Santana is in the kitchen making some coffee for her and Brittany. Since it's getting a bit late, she decides to make it decaffeinated so they're not awake all night when they have work tomorrow. She's just stirring the cups when Brittany walks into the room.

"Hi" Brittany smiles while walking over to Santana.

"Hi" Santana smiles back.

"I know we didn't leave the conversation earlier in the best place but I promise you that you're the only one for me" Brittany smiles while wrapping her arms around Santana's waist. "Even if Christian was being an ass then that's not going to change us anyway so please don't worry about it."

"Ok" Santana nods.

"So what are you up to?" Brittany asks.

"Making us some coffee and then I was hoping I could talk to you about work for 10 minutes" Santana replies as they walk to the living room with their coffee.

"Yeah that's cool" Brittany smiles taking a cup from Santana.

"Then I thought you might like to stay tonight?" Santana asks with a smile.

"But I don't have my pyjamas with me" Brittany teases.

"Maybe you won't need them" Santana smirks.

* * *

Things have been going reasonably smoothly for Brittany and Santana the last few days. They've been working and hanging out a lot together. Brittany hasn't seen Christian either for a while which Santana is thankful for. Brittany is currently in the dance studio going through some choreography when Santana walks in.

"You looked so sexy doing that" Santana smirks.

"Thanks" Brittany says blushing before taking a drink of her water. "It would look even better if I had a partner though" she adds.

"Are you asking me to dance with you Brittany Pierce?" Santana teases.

"Oh no I wasn't meaning that, I meant it's hard to choreograph these kinds of dances on my own but I have to tonight because there's no one else available and I'm on a deadline so I can't leave it" Brittany replies.

"I was only teasing babe" Santana smiles. "If I can be of assistance though then I'm happy to help" she says honestly.

"Thank you but that wouldn't be a good idea" Brittany admits.

"Why not?" Santana frowns in confusion.

"Because we're at work so there's no way I can lose concentration and I certainly will if I need to dance with you because I won't be able to take my eyes off you" Brittany states.

"I see" Santana smirks.

"Yeah it's really not a good idea to lose focus in the middle of work" Brittany says.

"You know we could always sneak off somewhere or find a reasonably sized closet" Santana smirks. "I mean you are pretty damn sexy right now."

"As much as I would love to, we can't" Brittany says regrettably.

"Why not?" Santana asks while moving closer to Brittany.

"Because we're at work right now and it wouldn't be professional to do that" Brittany points out.

"Babe no one is going to notice we're not here because most of our staff are away home and those who are here don't need to help us with anything right now" Santana says while wrapping her arms around Brittany's waist.

"I'm not joking around Santana. I was serious when I said I try to keep my personal life out of my work life" Brittany states. "I know we're dating and we work together but I still think we need to remain professional around here."

"But you're the one that has been kissing me in bathrooms and stroking my hand, how is that different?" Santana asks annoyed.

"Because it's hard not to do anything when we work so closely together but I think there has to be a limit. I can't ignore you every day but I also can't be hooking up with you in closets" Brittany points out.

"So what you're saying is that I've to play by your rules now?" Santana questions.

"Please don't get mad at me Santana, I'm just saying what I think is best for the business" Brittany states.

"No you're just hiding away as usual" Santana shakes her head annoyed.

"Christian was barely ever around here when we were together. This really isn't about us, it's just about how I like things around here. I don't want our staff looking at us differently when they know we're together" Brittany replies.

"Do you know what, I'm going home" Santana shakes her head while walking towards the door.

"I'm sorry Santana, I don't mean it to sound like I'm being awkward all the time because I'm not. I just like things in general to remain professional" Brittany says honestly.

"It's hard to read you Brittany so I can't tell if this is a gay thing or a Brittany thing but it doesn't matter right now because I'm just going to go home" Santana states.

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow then" Brittany sighs.

"Yeah I'll see you tomorrow" Santana says before leaving. Meanwhile Brittany goes back to work on her choreography.

* * *

It's the next day and Santana has just walked into her office. She's not in the best of moods since she and Brittany had a disagreement last night but when she sees who's in her office her mood gets even worse.

"Um…excuse me" Santana states while briskly walking over to her desk. "Who let you in here?" she asks annoyed.

"Security said it was ok" Rebecca shrugs as if it's no big deal.

"No I meant who let you into my office. You shouldn't be waiting in here, I have confidential things in my office" Santana snaps.

"I wasn't going to go through all your stuff, I was just sitting waiting on you turning up" Rebecca states while walking over to the desk. She goes over to the same side of the desk that Santana is sitting at and leans against it.

"What the hell are you doing here anyway?" Santana asks annoyed. "We broke up ages ago, almost a year ago to be honest."

"Look I've been speaking to Quinn and she mentioned you were single at the moment" Rebecca says.

"So you thought you would come and annoy me at work?" Santana asks pissed. She really doesn't want Rebecca here right now especially when Brittany will be at work soon.

"I miss you Santana" Rebecca says while moving closer to Santana. "We were good together, don't you think so?"

"No I don't think so" Santana states firmly while shaking her head.

"I want us to try again because I believe it could work" Rebecca says while taking Santana's hand in hers.

"It wouldn't work and let go of my damn hand" Santana shakes her head while drawing her hand away.

"I still love you Santana" Rebecca says while leaning in towards Santana. Santana starts to back up a little before speaking up.

"Well I'm sorry but I don't…"

Rebecca shoots forward and her lips graze Santana's just as someone walks into the room.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't realise you had company" Brittany says, a mix between shock and hurt.

"It's ok" Rebecca smiles before leaning into Santana again. Brittany immediately turns and walks back out the door completely missing Santana's reaction.

"Jesus, get the fuck off me" Santana states while jumping out of the way. "You don't just put your lips on someone like that you psychopath" she shakes her head before quickly leaving and taking off down the corridor.

"Santana where are you going?" Rebecca shouts after her but she doesn't reply. Santana continues running down the corridor until she finds Brittany in the copying room.

"Ok that was not what it looked like" Santana says walking over to Brittany.

"Oh really" Brittany states in disbelief. "I guess because I won't have sex with you at work then you look elsewhere?"

"That is not true" Santana says honestly.

"I know I am taking a while to open up about things but I thought you knew deep down how much I love you" Brittany says upset.

"Of course I do. Honey no amount of arguing is going to make me stray I can assure you" Santana states. "That bitch had her lips on me before I could pull away. I was in the middle of a sentence when she just lunged at me."


	13. Clearing the air somewhat

Chapter 13: Clearing the air somewhat

"I know I am taking a while to open up about things but I thought you knew deep down how much I love you" Brittany says upset.

"Of course I do. Honey no amount of arguing is going to make me stray I can assure you" Santana states. "That bitch had her lips on me before I could pull away. I was in the middle of a sentence when she just lunged at me."

"Who is she anyway?" Brittany asks.

"She's my ex" Santana sighs. "We broke up almost a year ago so her turning up here was as big a surprise for me as it was for you. I haven't spoken to her since the day we broke up" Santana says honestly. She didn't expect Rebecca to turn up here, especially not now since their break up happened a long time ago.

"Fine" Brittany sighs.

"You have to believe me Brittany that I had no idea she would even try to get in contact with me again" Santana states.

"I do believe you" Brittany says taking a deep breath.

"You didn't sound like you did two seconds ago" Santana replies.

"I know but that was just because I was annoyed" Brittany states. Deep down she did know Santana would never cheat on her because she knows Santana feels the same way as she does and she would never dream of cheating on Santana either.

"Annoyed about what?" Santana asks. She guesses it's for obvious reasons like someone else kissing her since they're dating now, but she had to ask.

"Two things actually, one being that someone else is kissing the girl I love and two, the fact that she can just do that anyway" Brittany says.

"Do what anyway?" Santana asks confused.

"Just come into your workplace and just kiss you like that. She clearly hasn't got a care in the world about who sees her whereas I have. Even when I was with Christian I didn't like people seeing us kiss all that much so it's even worse with you and I because I don't know how to deal with what other people might think of me" Brittany says honestly. She's actually a little jealous of Rebecca because like she said, she can just walk in there and kiss Santana whereas she can't.

"I see" Santana nods understanding. "Look I want to talk to you about this but can I quickly go and make sure Rebecca has left now because I don't want her waiting on me?" she asks.

"Yeah" Brittany smiles slightly. She knows she shouldn't be mad at Santana because none of this is her fault.

"Ok" Santana smiles back before walking over to the door.

"In fact I'm coming with you" Brittany says while quickly following Santana. "I might just give her a friendly slap on the face if she's still here" she states.

"Hold on" Santana says while grabbing Brittany's arm to stop her from walking any further. "Under no circumstances are you going to slap her Brittany" she warns her.

"She fucking kissed you Santana so why shouldn't I?" Brittany asks looking at Santana confused.

"Look I know you care about me and you're angry that she did that to me especially when we're together but you can't go around hitting people" Santana states.

"Yes I can Santana, this is my company so if I want to punch someone's face on my property then I will" Brittany states.

"That's exactly why you shouldn't Brittany. This is our business so we cannot let our staff see us be violent with people. If there are extreme circumstances then that's why we call security, we don't fight people ourselves" Santana reasons.

"But she kissed you Santana and that's not right because you're with me now" Brittany states.

"I know but that's also another reason not to hurt her. If you go in there and hit her then she's going to know something is up. My colleague wouldn't just punch my ex because they kissed me so she's going to wonder if we're more than colleagues" Santana says.

"Let her wonder, I don't care" Brittany shrugs.

"Honey, if she thinks we're more than colleagues she could say something to someone else who just might be the wrong person to talk to and bam the whole world knows you're dating me" Santana states. "You just admitted a couple of minutes ago that you're scared about what other people will think of you so hitting Rebecca won't help that whatsoever."

"Fine" Brittany sighs. She understands Santana's point now so she's not going to hit anyone but that doesn't make things ok. Someone else has kissed the girl she loves and that clearly doesn't make her happy.

"I'm happy for you to come with me though to confront her" Santana says.

"Ok" Brittany nods and then they head to Santana's office. As soon as they walk in, Rebecca is nowhere to be found.

"Shit, where has she gone now" Santana says shaking her head. Even though she wants her gone, she'd rather see her now and know for sure she was leaving but now she doesn't know if she's actually left or if she's still in the building.

"Come on and we'll ask someone at reception to see if they saw her leave" Brittany says while walking out the door. Santana quickly follows her over to the reception desk.

"Did either of you see a dark haired girl leave my office?" Santana asks but both receptionists shake their head. "Ok, no problem" she sighs before walking away.

"George I think was working in my office all morning so maybe he's seen her leave" Brittany says. Their offices are across from one another so it's easy to see into one another's offices from the others.

"Let's hope so" Santana sighs while following Brittany to her office.

"Oh morning Brittany, Santana" George smiles while looking up from what he was doing at the desk.

"Morning" Brittany replies while smiling back. "So I know you're busy right now but you didn't happen to see someone leave Santana's office in the last 10 minutes did you?"

"She has dark hair and was wearing a hideous orange dress, oh and she might have looked like she was chewing a wasp" Santana says, laughing at the last part.

"Now you mention it, someone did leave your office a few minutes ago but I think she just went to the bathroom so she might still be in there" George points out.

"Ok thank you" Santana says before taking off towards the bathroom with Brittany quick on her heels. "You're still here then" she says when she sees Rebecca at the sinks washing her hands.

"Still here" Rebecca smiles.

"Ok well I'm going to make this quick and to the point" Santana says. "I want you to leave this building and never come back. I also don't ever want to see you again so don't bother contacting me or turning up unannounced because if you do, I will get a restraining order against you."

"Whoa Santana, there is no need to be so extreme with everything" Rebecca says taken aback.

"I'm going to have to be when you turn up here like this and just kiss me. You don't just kiss people that don't want to be kissed. You're lucky I was as calm as I was otherwise I'd have knocked you out. You literally forced yourself on me and I could go to the cops you know for that" Santana states.

"You're blowing this way out of proportion Santana" Rebecca sighs. "I ran into Quinn the other day and she said this would be ok. She said that you guys had been talking about how much you missed me and wouldn't be opposed to getting back together because you still loved me."

"Wait, hold up" Brittany says, talking for the first time since they got to the bathrooms. "You came here because you were told Santana was still in love with you?" she asks.

"Yes" Rebecca nods. "I wouldn't have kissed you Santana if I thought you didn't want me to but you did tell Quinn you wanted us to get back together."

"Is this true?" Brittany asks looking at Santana.

"Of course it's not fucking true" Santana states annoyed. "When exactly was I supposed to say all this to Quinn?" she asks looking at Rebecca.

"I don't know exactly but I spoke to Quinn 5 days ago and she told me the whole story" Rebecca says. "Like I say I don't know when your conversation happened but she did tell me that you frequently talk over the phone."

"This is just fantastic" Brittany shakes her head. She doesn't know what to make of this situation anymore because she knows Santana loves her but why would Quinn say what she did.

"I don't mean to be rude but why are you here?" Rebecca asks looking at Brittany. She roughly knows who Brittany is in terms of business but she doesn't understand what she is doing in the bathroom. This is between her and Santana so she doesn't know what it has got to do with Brittany right now.

"Perhaps I'm here because you walk into my company, somehow managing to pass security and then you proceed to wait in a confidential area and then kiss my business partner and friend without her wanting it" Brittany states annoyed. "You can't just wait in someone else's office like that especially when no one knows you're here."

"Look let's just get this clear, I don't believe a word you've said Rebecca because there's no way Quinn would say that about me" Santana states. She never said any of that so she doesn't understand what's going on.

"I swear she said that. Phone Quinn and ask her if you don't believe me" Rebecca states.

"Fine, I might just do that" Santana says while getting her phone out before calling Quinn. After a few seconds, Quinn answers the phone.

 _"_ _Hey Santana, what's up" Quinn says._

 _"_ _Well I had a visitor at work today who claims you sent her" Santana says momentarily looking at Rebecca._

 _"_ _You did, who?" Quinn asks slightly confused._

 _"_ _Rebecca turned up here and said you told her it was a good idea to come but I know she's lying to me so did…"_

 _"_ _No Santana I told her to come" Quinn states interrupting._

 _"_ _Wait, you did what?" Santana asks surprised. "Why would you do that?"_

 _"_ _Because every time we talked you kept saying how much you missed her and wanted to get back together with her" Quinn replies._

 _"_ _No I did not Quinn" Santana states firmly._

 _"_ _Yes you did" Quinn says adamantly. "We actually had a long talk when I last came to visit you and you said you still loved your ex and wanted to get back together but you were scared."_

 _"_ _Oh my god" Santana shakes her head in realisation. "I need to go Quinn but I'm sorry for disturbing you at work."_

 _"_ _It's ok, I'll talk to you soon then" Quinn says._

 _"_ _Ok bye" Santana says and then hangs up the phone._

"So?" Rebecca asks.

"I'm sorry Rebecca" Santana sighs. "I did say those things ok but I never mentioned your name. Quinn just put two and two together and came up with 15. I'm sorry but I wasn't talking about you when I said what I did to Quinn" she says feeling bad. She doesn't want to hurt anyone and she can clearly see now that Rebecca thought she was doing the right thing.

"Oh" Rebecca nods feeling like an idiot. "It's ok, I wasn't that bothered about getting back together anyway, I just thought you wanted me so I was willing to give it a shot."

"Rebecca don't feel embarrassed about this because this isn't your fault, it's Quinn for putting ideas in your head" Santana states. She feels really bad now because Rebecca clearly seems humiliated by this.

"I'm just going to leave and don't worry, you won't see me again" Rebecca says before rushing out.

"Fuck" Santana curses herself. "This whole thing is so screwed up" she shakes her head before walking out of the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Brittany asks confused. She doesn't know what's going on right now. She understands Santana wasn't talking about Rebecca but she hasn't explained what she was talking about.

"Back to my office, are you coming" Santana says, still not slowing down though.

"Yeah" Brittany replies while chasing after Santana.

"I've just humiliated someone and called them a liar all because of that best friend of mine" Santana shakes her head. "Why would she say that to Rebecca in the first place regardless of who I was talking about?" she asks. Even if she was talking about Rebecca then she doesn't want Rebecca to hear that from Quinn.

"Can you catch me up here" Brittany says as they arrive in Santana's office and sit down.

"Ok so a while ago, I was feeling really confused about stuff so I had been confiding in Quinn about my feelings. I didn't mention the name because I obviously didn't want Quinn to know who I was talking about so I just kept saying my ex. I'm guessing Quinn assumed I meant Rebecca because that was my most recent ex and one of my more serious relationships" Santana says. "I had just mentioned how much I missed them and how much I loved them so I wanted to get back together but I was really scared it wouldn't work out."

"Oh, ok" Brittany nods. "So if it wasn't Rebecca then who was it?" she asks.

"You" Santana chuckles while looking at Brittany.

"Oh" Brittany says laughing.

"I had been pouring my heart out about you to Quinn without actually saying your name so she must have thought I meant Rebecca since she doesn't know you and I dated in high school" Santana says.

"Well now that that is all cleared up then I want to apologise about yesterday" Brittany says honestly. "I acted way out of line and I'm sorry."

"It was my fault Britt so you don't need to apologise, I was pushing you too much" Santana admits.

"No Santana this was my fault. I overreacted and I'm really sorry" Brittany says genuinely. "I'm not big on PDA and all that stuff in the first place but I shouldn't have overreacted."

"Ok" Santana nods.

"Do you remember in high school how you were the only person I ever opened up to about anything?" Brittany asks.

"Yeah" Santana nods again.

"Ok well I'm still that person. I don't like showing my emotions to anyone but you always found a way to make me do that with you" Brittany admits. "I don't even open up about anything to any of my friends or my parents. I mean maybe I've been more open with Tina and Mike since high school but that was just because I didn't have you."

"I get that honey" Santana says honestly. She understands where Brittany is coming from.

"I just need you to know that no matter how ok I am about everything, it doesn't mean I'll be loads more open about our relationship" Brittany admits. "I don't mean I'll ever hide our relationship once we tell people but I just mean I won't be into sharing our whole life with the public."

"I don't expect you to be Brittany but I would like you to try and help me understand the difference. Sometimes I don't know if you're doing things because that's just you or because you're worried about people finding out you're dating a girl" Santana points out.

"I know and it's hard to explain but I am trying babe, I am" Brittany reassures her.

"Ok" Santana nods.

"I've got a lot of work I need to do now but do you want to come to my place tonight and if you want we can finish this talk" Brittany says.

"Ok cool" Santana smiles. "What time shall I come over?" she asks.

"Well I walked to work this morning so I don't actually have my car so how about I just come and get you once I'm done and we can go to my place together in your car" Brittany suggests.

"Sounds good, I will see you later then I guess" Santana smiles.

"Yes you will" Brittany says while standing up. She looks around before leaning down and quickly kissing Santana. "Bye" she smiles.

"Bye" Santana smiles back and then Brittany leaves.

…

Brittany and Santana are sitting eating dinner together at Brittany's place. They have ironed out some of the things they wanted to talk about but it really can't be fixed that quickly. They've decided to just try and be more understanding of the other. Brittany has assured Santana that no matter what happens she is going to try and be better. They're now just talking about work like they usually do since they love their jobs so much.

"Ok so I don't know if you've heard or not but every year we have a party at the company to celebrate its success" Brittany says. "It's being held next week and I usually hire a party organiser to set it up for us but I thought you might like to be involved if you're not too busy."

"I mean I can help out if you want" Santana shrugs.

"Look this is your company too Santana and I want it to feel like that. I mean if you're too busy then I'll just hire a planner but I do know you love parties so if you wanted to organise it then I'd be good with that" Brittany says honestly.

"No I'm not too busy so I'd love to do it" Santana says getting excited. She didn't want to seem too full on in the beginning but she did really want to help out.

"Cool" Brittany smiles. "If you do need any help though then let me know and I'll hire someone or I can help out with the really boring tasks."

"I'll let you know if I need any help" Santana smiles.

"Ok good" Brittany nods. "So how is dinner for you?" she asks.

"It's really nice, perfectly burned just like you usually make it" Santana teases.

"Hey, I'll have you know I've gotten better at cooking since we were in high school. I very rarely burn food anymore" Brittany assures her.

"You'll just need to cook for me again then and prove me wrong" Santana smirks.

"Fine, I accept the challenge" Brittany replies.

* * *

Brittany is hard at work in her office when someone knocks on the door. She quickly saves what she was doing on her computer before going over to her door to answer it.

"Christian, hi" Brittany says surprised as Christian is standing at the door holding a large box.

"Hey" Christian smiles, "can I come in?"

"Um, sure" Brittany nods before opening the door wider to let Christian in. "So what's in the box Chris?" she asks as he sits the box down.

"I was tidying up the house the other day so it's looking good for the realtors to put it on the market and I came across some of your things. I figured you'd like them so I thought I would swing by and give them to you" Christian replies.

"You didn't need to do that. You could have just called and I would have come and collected them" Brittany replies. She's grateful that he brought them to her but she didn't want to put him out either.

"It's ok, I had a day off work so I figured I'd just come by. It's ok that I'm here right?" he asks.

"Yeah it's fine" Brittany smiles. "So can I get you a coffee or something?" she asks.

"Sure" Christian smiles.

"Ok I'll be right back then" Brittany says before going to get some coffee for them. Just as Brittany is doing that, Santana walks into Brittany's office because she wanted to talk to her about something.

"Oh, you're here" Santana says surprised.

"Yeah" Christian nods.

"Where's Britt?" Santana asks, making sure not to say her full name. She's the only person that gets to call Brittany, Britt and she wants Christian to know that.

"She went to get us some coffee" Christian replies. "I was just bringing her some of her stuff that she left at the house and then I was hoping to talk to her about some stuff."

"Yeah I bet you were" Santana rolls her eyes.

"Do you have a problem with me or something?" Christian asks confused.

"I do actually, yes" Santana states in a matter of a fact manner.

"As far as I am aware she chose you Santana so I don't see why you would have a problem with me. I should be the one with the problem since my wife left me for you" Christian states.

"Yeah I might be with her right now but it doesn't mean I don't know what you're playing at" Santana glares at Christian. "I know you want her back and you're going to do your best to make that happen."

"Why would I want to be with someone who doesn't want me and who has no interest in a man whatsoever. Brittany left me for a woman so in what universe would I think I'd have any chance?" Christian states defensively.

"Maybe because she married you after dating me so there is a chance" Santana replies.

"Does Brittany know you don't trust her?" Christian asks.

"I do trust Brittany, of course I do" Santana states, annoyed that he'd even ask that.

"Then why do you think I'd get her to take me back then. Whether or not I still want to be with her, there's no way I would because she doesn't want me so you really shouldn't be worried about this if you trust her" Christian reasons.

"Whatever" Santana waves it off just as Brittany walks in the door.

"Ok, I can feel the awkward atmosphere in here already so what's going on?" Brittany asks as she places the coffees on the table.

"Santana thinks I want you back and I won't stop at anything to get you" Christian states. "I literally did just come here with your stuff Brittany."

"Look maybe you should go Christian" Brittany sighs.

"Fine" Christian says standing up from his seat.

"Thank you for bringing the stuff here and I'll speak to you soon about when we can meet with the lawyers" Brittany says while walking Christian to the door.

"Ok" Christian nods and then leaves. Brittany then shuts the door and walks back over to her desk where Santana is.

"Thank you" Santana smiles.

"For what?" Brittany asks confused.

"For getting rid of him and for seeing what he was trying to do" Santana replies.

"That's not why I asked him to leave Santana" Brittany states seriously. "I asked him to go because I didn't want to embarrass you in front of him."

"I beg your pardon" Santana asks surprised. She has no idea what Brittany means but it doesn't sound that good anyway.

"He literally came here to give me my stuff Santana and we were going to talk about the divorce. He doesn't want me back Santana, he really doesn't" Brittany says taking a deep breath.

"Oh wake up Britt" Santana waves it off. She knows how she feels and she knows she's right.

"Just because I'm not open about us yet doesn't mean you can make situations up with Christian because you're upset" Brittany states. "I am telling you right now that Christian is not playing me and I can assure you he doesn't want me anymore."

"Then why is he still in your life?" Santana questions.

"Because we're still legally married right now but as soon as the divorce is over then we won't really have any reason to keep in contact" Brittany says honestly.

"It just seems to be taking a while Britt" Santana says. She just wants Christian out of the picture soon and then she can finally relax about things. She does trust Brittany but its hard being with her sometimes when her ex is still lingering about.

"I didn't divorce Christian for you so you don't have a right to tell me how quickly I can take things" Brittany states.

"If you don't care how I feel in this then why bother divorcing him at all?" Santana asks annoyed.

"Santana I am doing my best to make you happy but what I'm trying to say is divorcing Christian wasn't to get you back. I know it's not ideal dating someone with an ex in the picture so I get that but the divorce wasn't for your benefit" Brittany says truthfully.

"Ok so why are you doing it?" Santana asks.

"Because I don't love Christian and I don't want to be with him anymore. Eventually I would have divorced him no matter whether you came into the picture or not. Seeing you again did make me realise a few things though" Brittany replies. She and Christian wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway with the way things were going so they would have ended things in time.

"This is such a mess" Santana groans while throwing her head back in frustration.

"I love you Santana, I really do and I know you're putting up a lot with me but you have to trust me on this. Christian doesn't want me anymore" Brittany assures Santana.

"This is really hard for me Brittany because we're slipping back into our high school ways again and I really don't want that" Santana admits.

"I don't want it either but can't you see I am trying" Brittany states. "I told my parents, Tina and Christian about us so surely you can see I'm making progress."

"I do see the progress but I still feel uneasy about Christian being around" Santana says honestly.

"I know but I can't do anything else until the divorce is finally over. It'd cost me a lot more and be a lot more messy to rush this so I just need to be patient and this will all work out" Brittany says. "If it helps I'll tell you every time I see Christian and I'll tell you what we talk about."

"No but then it seems like I'm controlling you or something" Santana sighs.

"So what am I supposed to do" Brittany says chuckling slightly out of frustration. Either way, they both can't win so they don't know what to do.

"I don't know" Santana shrugs.

"I think we just need to wait this out and be patient. As soon as it is over then everything will be better, I promise" Brittany says. "I know it's easier said than done but what else can we do."

"I suppose" Santana sighs. She doesn't like it but there really is nothing else they can do. "I need to get back to work now but I'll come by later because I have some work stuff I need to talk to you about."

"Ok" Brittany nods.

"See you later" Santana says while getting up and walking over to the door.

"Wait" Brittany says pulling her back and taking her hand. "I love you" she smiles before leaning in to kiss Santana.

"What about the cameras?" Santana asks slightly surprised that Brittany kissed her.

"I'll erase the footage or something" Brittany shrugs.

"Babe you can't do that because they're here for security purposes" Santana says.

"Then we'll just need to hope no one needs to look at that specific footage from today" Brittany says. "Anyway I'll see you later" she smiles.

"Ok" Santana smiles back before leaving.

* * *

Its a few days later and it's finally Friday. Brittany and Santana arranged to meet at Santana's apartment after work because they were going to do something together. They hadn't quite planned what they were going to do yet so they were just going to meet and see what happens.

"So what would you like to do tonight?" Santana asks. "We could go out to dinner or I could cook us something. There's also a few movies on that we could go and see" she suggests.

"No I don't want to do that" Brittany shakes her head.

"You don't want to do any of that?" Santana asks confused.

"No" Brittany shakes her head again while smiling.

"So what do you want to do?" Santana asks.

"Can I see your bedroom please?" Brittany asks politely.

"Um…is this supposed to be some sort of sex joke or something?" Santana asks confused. "I mean I obviously like sex with you and stuff but I haven't eaten dinner yet and I did really want to do something nice like a date" she points out.

"It's not a sex joke" Brittany replies. "I'd just like to go to your room please" she smiles.

"Ok fine, go ahead" Santana nods.

"Thanks" Brittany says before making her way to Santana's room with Santana hot on her heels.

"What are you up to?" Santana asks as Brittany starts taking some clothes from the closet and grabbing an overnight bag.

"I'm packing you a bag" Brittany smiles.

"A bag for what?" Santana asks suspiciously.

"You and I are going away for the weekend" Brittany smiles again.

"As much as I would love to babe, I can't do that" Santana says regrettably. "I've got things to do at work so its way too short notice."

"I cleared your schedule at work so all you need to do is come with me" Brittany states.

"Really?" Santana asks surprised.

"Yes really" Brittany smiles before leaning in to steal a quick kiss. "So is there any essentials that you want me to pack for you?" she asks.

"I don't know because I don't know where we're going yet. If you tell me where we're going then I'll know what sort of items I need to pack" Santana smiles.

"Its top secret where I'm taking you" Brittany smirks.

"So how do I know if I need my sexiest underwear or if I need a bikini?" Santana asks.

"I'd say you'd need those regardless of where we're going" Brittany winks. "That's mostly just for my benefit though rather than yours."

"Yeah I thought it would be" Santana laughs. "No seriously though please tell me where we're going because I'd like to be prepared for it."

"It's just a hotel about an hour away. It does have a pool and a gym though if you want to swim or workout or whatever" Brittany says. "I just figured we could go there and get some privacy but at the same time not have to be as discreet as we do at work or whatever."

"Well it sounds good babe" Santana smiles starting to get excited about spending the weekend with just Brittany and no distractions.

"I'm thinking we drive up there tonight and make a late reservation at a restaurant nearby to get something to eat and then maybe go back to our room and have some wine and just relax" Brittany smiles.

"I can definitely be down with that idea" Santana smiles while grabbing a few other things and putting them in the bag. As soon as they have everything they leave and get into Brittany's car.


	14. A proposal of sorts

Chapter 14: A proposal of sorts

Brittany and Santana have just arrived at the hotel they're going to be staying at for the next few days. Once Brittany puts the car in park, they get their things out of the back of the car and then head into the hotel.

"I am so excited for this" Santana says excitedly.

"I know you are" Brittany smiles at her. "You couldn't stop smiling the whole journey here and you were asking question after question about this place."

"Sorry, I tend to ask a lot of questions when I get excited about something" Santana admits embarrassingly.

"No don't apologise, I thought it was adorable" Brittany smiles while hip bumping Santana gently.

"Ok" Santana smiles back.

"Hey do you want to wait here with the bags and I'll check us in" Brittany asks as they arrive inside the hotel. She didn't see the point in carrying the bags all the way over to the desk to then carry them back again.

"That's cool" Santana smiles and then Brittany leaves.

"Hi there, I'm booked in under Pierce" Brittany says to the receptionist.

"No problem, let me just see which room you have" the receptionist says while checking the computer in front of her. "Ok so it's two guests and one room, is that correct?" she asks.

"That's right" Brittany smiles.

"So that's Brittany Pierce and Santana Lopez?" the receptionist asks and Brittany nods. "And it's a double room for 3 nights" she smiles.

"That's correct" Brittany nods again.

"Ok well here are your keys, you're in room 325" the receptionist smiles while handing over the key card to Brittany.

"Thank you" Brittany says taking the key card.

"You're welcome, enjoy your stay" the receptionist says and then Brittany makes her way over to Santana.

"We're in room 325 so do you just want to take the stairs or would you rather the elevator?" Brittany asks as she takes her bag from Santana.

"The bags are reasonably light so we might as well take the stairs. I could do with the exercise anyway" Santana jokes.

"Trust me you'll get plenty of exercise this weekend" Brittany smirks as they reach the stairs and begin walking up them.

"Please don't tell me this is like some sort of activity place where we need to get up at 5am for assault courses or something. I really can't be doing with a boot camp this weekend" Santana says hoping she can just relax and not have to do much.

"No there's no assault courses or boot camps" Brittany replies and Santana breathes a sigh of relief. "I'm not ruling out getting up at 5am for some exercise though" she smirks.

"Really?" Santana groans.

"Yeah really" Brittany teases. "I hear sexercise is the best type of exercise" she states.

"Oh you meant…ok" Santana smiles in realisation.

"Are you up for it?" Brittany asks looking at Santana as they walk along the corridor.

"Totally" Santana smiles while gently brushing her hand against Brittany's before pulling away again.

"It's ok we're far away from home so you can take my hand" Brittany smiles while intertwining her fingers with Santana's.

"Ok" Santana smiles. This weekend away is getting better and better Santana thinks.

"I'm sorry but I'm going to have to let go now because we're here" Brittany smiles while letting go of Santana's hand and scanning the key card against the door.

"It's ok" Santana smiles back. She's got a feeling her face might be sore at the end of this weekend from all the smiling she is doing.

"After you" Brittany says while holding the door open for Santana.

"Thank you Britt" Santana says while walking into the room.

"Wow, this room is really quite nice" Brittany says while following Santana inside and shutting the door.

"Yeah and the view looks amazing" Santana says while walking out onto the balcony.

"It really does" Brittany agrees. "I think we're going to have fun here this weekend" she says.

"Yeah me too" Santana smiles while walking back into the room. "Wait a second, there's only one bed" she points out when the realisation just hits her.

"Yeah that's kind of the point babe" Brittany laughs.

"I just assumed there would be two beds" Santana states.

"This isn't a business trip you know, this is a romantic weekend away for just the two of us" Brittany replies. They're far enough away from where people know them so Brittany wants to make this weekend special.

"I love you so much" Santana says before pulling Brittany close in a passionate kiss.

"I love you too" Brittany smiles as they pull out of the kiss. "So I'm going to freshen up a little and maybe we could get a late reservation nearby like I suggested earlier."

"Yeah that sounds good" Santana nods. "Why don't you go freshen up and I'll check in the drawer here to see if there are any menus with the phone number of a restaurant and I'll book us a table for in about 30 minutes?" she asks.

"That's cool" Brittany smiles before going to the bathroom. Santana then looks for a leaflet or a menu for a restaurant and then reserves them a table.

"Hi there, I called and reserved a table for 2 under the name Lopez" Santana tells the waiter.

"Ok let me just see where we're seating you" the waiter says while checking the computer. "Ok, its right over here if you'd like to follow me" he says while picking up some menus.

* * *

"Oh god…oh god Britt, that's it…keep going" Santana moans as Brittany continues to thrust her fingers deep inside her.

"How close are you?" Brittany asks teasingly while slowing down slightly.

"So close so please keep going" Santana says as she grips the sheet tightly at either side of her. Brittany continues what she is doing until Santana eventually comes.

"There is nothing sexier than watching you cum" Brittany smiles while leaning down to kiss Santana.

"Does it turn you on?" Santana smirks while gently flipping them over. "Do you feel good knowing you're the one that made me cum like that?"

"Anything you do turns me on" Brittany states. "In the right setting, sometimes even just hearing your voice really does things to me" she points out.

"Do you like it when I touch you here?" Santana asks as she gently runs a finger down the valley of Brittany's breasts.

"Yeah" Brittany nods.

"How about when I rest my hand here?" Santana asks as she places her hand on Brittany's inner thigh. Brittany nods in response again so Santana moves her hand even closer to Brittany's center, "and here?"

"I really like it there" Brittany says beginning to get really turned on now.

"I can tell because I can feel the wetness already" Santana observes. "Do you just want me to fuck you now?" she asks.

"So bad" Brittany says trying not to let a moan escape just yet.

"Well I can't do it yet" Santana teases while removing her hand. "You need to earn it first before I do that" she smirks while leaning down to kiss Brittany.

"Haven't I already earned it since I made you cum a few minutes ago?" Brittany points out while looking up at Santana and smirking.

"That is a valid point" Santana nods. "I'd still like to make sure you've done enough to earn it though" she teases.

"Ok" Brittany replies.

"We're going to play a little game where each time you say something nice about me, I'll touch you some place you like" Santana states.

"Define touch?" Brittany asks. She wants to know if Santana means only by her hands.

"I will touch you with whatever part of me I'd like to and what I feel is worthy based on the thing you say about me" Santana smiles. "Don't feel you need to be nice about everything though, I like it when you talk dirty."

"Ok well if you weren't holding me down right now, I'd fuck you so hard" Brittany smirks.

"You can get a kiss for that but that's it" Santana says while pecking Brittany's lips. "I'm not actually holding you down so I don't like that but I appreciate the enthusiasm about wanting to fuck me so you deserved something."

"You are kinda holding me down" Brittany points out.

"I'm just straddling you babe, there's plenty of room to move" Santana smiles.

"You are so beautiful and I fall more and more in love with you each day" Brittany says smiling up at Santana.

"Do you know what, I can't do this to you because you're too sweet" Santana shakes her head while leaning down to capture Brittany's lips in a passionate kiss. She then slowly moves her kissing to down Brittany's neck and across her collarbone.

"Are you just going to fuck me now?" Brittany asks with a smirk as she gently caresses Santana's back.

"All in good time but yes" Santana looks up and smiles at Brittany before slowly going back to kissing Brittany's body. She gently kisses Brittany's breasts before massaging them as she begins sucking on Brittany's nipple.

"Shit…you really know how to work your tongue. I could just cum right now" Brittany moans.

"There's no fun in that so please don't" Santana says while teasingly pulling away for a moment.

"I won't but can I try and make you cum at the same time?" she asks while reaching down to squeeze Santana's butt.

"I don't think that'll be an issue for you because I can feel myself getting worked up already" Santana points out before switching and paying attention to Brittany's other nipple. As she does so, she reaches down and teases Brittany's entrance with her fingers. Meanwhile Brittany slips her hand down between their bodies and does the same to Santana.

"Please go right in this time" Brittany moans.

"Only if you do" Santana teases and as soon as she feels Brittany push her finger in further, she gives Brittany what she wants. As Brittany's moans pick up, she enters another finger inside her and begins squeezing her breast with the other hand. Brittany does the same while continuing to squeeze Santana's butt with her free hand.

…

"After that this morning, I don't even care that we fell right asleep last night" Santana smiles. As soon as they got back from the restaurant last night and got into bed, both of them seemed to fall asleep immediately.

"Me neither, it was worth the wait" Brittany smiles as she lies tangled up in Santana's body.

"So as much as I liked that you woke me up like that this morning, I could really use a shower now" Santana points out.

"Well I could too so how about we share" Brittany smiles while moving closer to Santana and wrapping her arms around her waist.

"Ok well I still owe you anyway since you've made me cum twice this morning already and I've only made you once so how about a little fun in the shower before we actually shower?" Santana asks with a wink.

"I'd never turn that kind of thing down so why not" Brittany smirks before leaning in to kiss Santana. After a few more kisses, they finally decide to take it to the shower. As soon as they are done in the shower, they order some room service for breakfast before getting organised for the day.

"I just found out they have a spa here so do you want to get a massage or something?" Santana asks.

"I mean if you want to then go ahead but I was just kinda hoping I could spend all day with you and not a masseuse" Brittany says slightly embarrassed. She doesn't want to seem clingy but having Santana all to herself has been amazing so far and that's what she wanted for this weekend, just some quality time the two of them.

"That works too" Santana smiles. "I think we should get some fresh air though at some point" she says.

"Yeah totally" Brittany nods in agreement. "I was thinking we could maybe take a walk somewhere and do some shopping. Then I could take you to lunch and then I have a surprise for later in the afternoon" she says.

"Sounds good babe, when do you want to leave?" Santana asks.

"Just whenever we're ready I guess" Brittany replies.

"Ok, I'll go and put some make up on and then we can go" Santana says while walking to the bathroom.

"You do know you're beautiful without make up right?" Brittany asks while following Santana to the bathroom.

"Thank you" Santana says while leaning up to peck Brittany's lips. "You have to stop saying things like that to me though when we're about to leave otherwise we won't actually leave the room."

"Lying is a terrible thing babe so I'm just not going to do it when I'm talking about you" Brittany smiles.

"You don't need to lie to me, just withhold it that's all" Santana smiles.

"Ok I'll do my best to withhold things from you babe. Every stable relationship should be built on withholding certain things so that's cool" Brittany smirks.

"You're taking the piss now babe, you knew what I was meaning" Santana says while playfully nudging Brittany out of the way. As soon as Santana is finished her makeup, they leave and head out on their walk. They do a little bit of shopping before stopping off at a restaurant for lunch. Brittany insisted everything was on her this weekend so she paid for lunch even though Santana really wanted to contribute.

"Are you ok for a little more walking or are you too full from eating to walk right now?" Brittany asks. They did slightly overdo things at lunch but the food was amazing and they were enjoying themselves so they figured they might as well have fun while they could.

"No I can walk babe" Santana smiles.

"Ok" Brittany smiles back before holding her hand out to Santana. Santana takes it and they intertwine their fingers as they begin walking.

"We will be able to eventually do this at home right?" Santana asks. She's been loving how carefree Brittany is when they're out in public but she just hopes they will be like that all the time eventually.

"Yeah I promise" Brittany says honestly. "Although it's not just about how I feel at the moment, it's also about Christian and the business. Everyone I work with knows I was married to Christian so if I suddenly turn up one day getting too close to you then things are going to look kinda bad. No one really knows we're getting divorced so it might look like I'm cheating and that could put off clients" she says.

"Ok" Santana nods understanding.

"I know it sounds selfish but it wouldn't just affect me if business started to decline. It would affect you and everyone who works with us so I couldn't take it if something happened because of me. As soon as the divorce is finalised then I will certainly be a lot less uptight about everything. You have my word" Brittany assures Santana.

"I'm not asking you to rush, I just wanted confirmation that eventually it would all work out and you gave me that so it's cool" Santana smiles. As much as she would love them to be more open back home, Brittany does have a bit of a point.

"Anyway let's just enjoy this just now and not worry about work" Brittany says while squeezing Santana's hand.

"Yeah you're right" Santana nods. After a few minutes, they arrive at the place Brittany wanted to take Santana to. It's the top of a hill where you can look down and see the whole town.

"What do you think of the view?" Brittany asks as she leads Santana to the top.

"It's beautiful" Santana says admiring the place around her.

"Do you want to sit?" Brittany asks while pulling a blanket out of one of her shopping bags and laying it on the ground.

"Sure" Santana nods. Brittany sits down and holds her hand out to Santana to help her sit down. They sit quietly for a few minutes just enjoying the view until Brittany moves in front of Santana so she's sitting facing her.

"So…I want to talk to you" Brittany speaks up.

"Ok" Santana nods with a smile.

"So I've been wanting to ask you this question for some time now but I never figured out the right time to ask you" Brittany starts. "This seems like the perfect place to do it so I'm just going to ask you" she says.

"Ok" Santana nods confused.

"I love you more than I've ever loved anyone before" she says while taking Santana's hand in hers. "I don't think there's been anyone who understood me just like you have and I know we didn't always have the best of relationships but I think deep down we always knew there was something special there. Even during that awful 8 years without you, I still loved you and I missed you so much. I know it's mostly my fault that we broke up the first time but I like to think of that time as a time for us to grow and be who we wanted to be first and I think we did that."

"We did" Santana smiles.

"Ok so back to the question I want to ask" Brittany says while taking a deep breath to give herself some more courage. "Santana Lopez, would you do me the honour of being my girlfriend?" she asks nervously.

"Are you serious?" Santana asks excitedly.

"Can you not tell by my nervous voice?" Brittany replies.

"Of course I'd love to be your girlfriend" Santana smiles while lunging forward and tackling Brittany into a massive hug.

"Oh thank god" Brittany sighs in relief while wrapping her arms around Santana. "I've wanted to make it a little more official for a while but I didn't know if it was too soon or not for you so I was worried you'd say no" she admits.

"The truth is I've wanted to be your girlfriend for a while too but I didn't know where you were at so I was too scared to ask" Santana says.

"Well now that we're on the same page, I would actually like to give you something" Brittany says while pulling out of the hug and going into her purse. She pulls out a small jewellery box and hands it to Santana.

"What's this babe?" Santana asks curiously looking at the box.

"Open it and find out" Brittany smiles. As soon as Santana opens the box, she finds a silver necklace with a heart pendant on it.

"Oh my god Britt, I love it" Santana smiles while lunging over to hug Brittany once more.

"Shall I put it on you?" Brittany asks and Santana pulls away and nods. She hands the necklace to Brittany and turns around so Brittany can put it round her neck.

* * *

Brittany is currently driving her and Santana back home. They had a great few days away but it's now time to get back to work and normality. They're starting work early tomorrow morning so they'll probably just go straight back to their own apartments tonight.

"So, how are the party plans coming along?" Brittany asks as they drive back.

"Yeah they're coming on really well actually" Santana nods. "I've been meaning to ask though, is this party strictly for the company or can we invite friends too?" she asks.

"You can invite whoever you want to, it doesn't just need to be colleagues and clients" Brittany replies.

"Ok cool" Santana smiles.

"I think Tina and Mike are actually coming" Brittany points out. "My parents have to work though so they won't be coming."

"I don't think any of my friends would really be able to make it because they don't live near here" Santana says. Most of her friends all live where she used to live and ever since she came to the company, she hasn't really had the time to make friends outside of work.

"Do you miss them?" Brittany asks while momentarily glancing at Santana.

"I do but this is where I want to be just now anyway and they're not actually that far away. Just not close enough to come over whenever they like" Santana admits.

"Well you don't really need friends when you have me anyway" Brittany jokes.

"Yeah I guess I do have enough on my plate with you" Santana teases. "You take up all of my time anyway, you're so high maintenance" she says playfully shaking her head.

"Whatever you say" Brittany says while patting Santana's leg. "Anyway back to the party, is there anything you need me to do?" she asks.

"It would really just be to invite whoever you want to invite. Like I've got everyone from the company but like I say I didn't know if we could invite friends and stuff so you just need to do that" Santana says.

"I'll do that tonight then" Brittany says.

"Cool" Santana smiles.

"Well here we are" Brittany says as she pulls up outside of Santana's apartment building.

"Do you want to come in?" Santana asks as she takes off her safety belt.

"I really would love to but I better not because I need to get ready for work tomorrow" Brittany says regrettably. "The weekend with you has been amazing but we have been away from work since Friday so I really should get home and sort out what I need to before tomorrow."

"No that's cool" Santana smiles.

"How about I pick you up in the morning though and maybe we can go to work together" Brittany suggests.

"Sounds good but how about I pick you up since we've been in your car all weekend" Santana says.

"Ok cool" Brittany smiles.

"So I will see you tomorrow" Santana says while opening the car door.

"Yeah" Brittany says before leaning in to kiss Santana. "Goodnight" she says pulling away and smiling.

"Night Britt" Santana smiles before getting out of the car and grabbing her bag from the back. She shuts the door and then waves before heading inside. Brittany makes sure Santana is inside before she drives off back to her apartment.

It's about 20 minutes after Santana got into her apartment and she is just getting ready for bed when her phone vibrates with a text. She checks it and is surprised to see Brittany has text her.

 _Brittany texts: hey I'm inviting people to a party at work this Friday and I'd really love it if my girlfriend could be there so would you like to come? x_

 _Santana texts: your girlfriend would love to come ; )_

 _Brittany texts: excellent x_

 _Santana texts: calling me your girlfriend seems weird but like in a good way_

 _Brittany texts: I am so happy you actually wanted to be_

 _Santana texts: of course I did. I miss you already by the way_

 _Brittany texts: I miss you too_

 _Santana texts: as much as I don't want to say it, I think I should go to bed now since we have work early in the morning_

 _Brittany texts: yeah me too, goodnight x_

 _Santana texts: goodnight Britt x_

* * *

It's Friday night and the party is just getting underway. Brittany and Santana were obviously the first there making sure everything was all set up and could greet their guests as they arrived. Brittany is currently talking to one of the clients.

"So where is Christian tonight, did he need to work?" Claire asks.

"No Christian and I aren't actually together anymore. We're currently going through a divorce" Brittany admits.

"Oh dear" Claire replies sympathetically.

"It's ok" Brittany smiles. "Things just weren't working out anymore but we're on good terms though so we're currently talking with our lawyers and hopefully things will be sorted soon."

"That's good then I suppose" Claire smiles.

"Hey would you excuse me a second, I need to speak to someone" Brittany says.

"Sure" Claire smiles.

"I'll talk to you later" Brittany smiles and then leaves. She walks over to where Santana is who is speaking to another member of their team.

"Santana can I speak to you for a second?" Brittany asks politely.

"Of course" Santana smiles.

"Let's go over here" Brittany says while walking over to Santana's office. She opens the door and then walks in closely followed by Santana who shuts the door behind them.

"So what's up?" Santana asks. Brittany doesn't verbally respond, instead she leans in and kisses Santana passionately.

"I know I said I don't usually like to do this at work but you look amazing in that dress and I've had a little liquor so I've got a bit more courage so can I like, maybe fuck you?" Brittany asks with a smirk.

"Thank god you said that because I have been dying to get my hands on you all night. That dress works wonders for you too babe" Santana says while pulling Brittany close and wrapping her arms around her. She then leans up and kisses Brittany.

"Hey come over here" Brittany says while leading Santana over to the desk. She quickly pushes everything off the desk and leaps onto it while pulling Santana with her so she's standing in between Brittany's legs.

"Oh honey" Santana shakes her head.

"What's wrong?" Brittany asks concerned.

"It's just it took me ages to arrange all that stuff this morning and some of the files didn't even have page numbers on them" Santana says while looking at all the documents on the floor in a messy bundle.

"Babe I'm so sorry" Brittany says feeling bad. She had no idea any of that stuff was important, she just wanted them to have a place to lean. "Here let me fix it for you" she says while getting off the table and bending over to pick up all the sheets of paper on the floor.

"Do you know what, never mind about them" Santana states while pulling Brittany by the hand over to her. "If you're just going to wave your butt in front of me then there's no point tidying them up because I'm just going to get distracted. Just promise you'll help me on Monday morning" she says.

"I promise" Brittany smiles while wrapping her arms around Santana's neck. Santana leans in and kisses her while gently pushing her backwards so she sits on the desk. Their kissing is just beginning to heat up when there's a knock at the door before someone comes waltzing in.

"Hey I need to talk to you both" George states while shutting the door behind him.

"Yeah you really do have something in that eye" Santana says while grabbing a hold of Brittany's cheeks with both hands and moving her face from side to side. As soon as she heard the knock at the door, she managed to pull away just in time.

"Hey what's going on here?" George asks as he notices the mess on the floor.

"Brittany has something in her eye so she couldn't see properly so that mixed with her clumsiness, she managed to knock everything off my desk" Santana shrugs.

"Oh wow" George says surprised. "Is her eye ok?"

"Yeah just an eyelash or something in it but it looks ok now" Santana smiles.

"Yeah so you can stop digging your nails into my cheeks" Brittany states looking at Santana and smirking.

"Right, sorry" Santana replies while pulling away.

"Do you know I don't get how you're a dancer when you're so clumsy sometimes, I mean look at the mess" George points out.

"Yeah me neither" Brittany says playfully glaring at Santana.

"What?" Santana whispers.

"I'm not a clumsy person and we all know that wasn't due to clumsiness" Brittany says but Santana waves it off.

"So George, what did you want to talk to us about?" Santana asks changing the subject.

"It was about the speeches. I figured you should be getting them started before people have had too much to drink and don't know what's being said" George replies.

"Yeah maybe you're right" Brittany nods. "You go back out there and we'll be out in a second" she smiles.

"Ok" George nods and then leaves the office.

"Well that was perfect timing" Brittany chuckles.

"I know but why don't you stay at mine tonight and we can finish this then?" Santana suggests.

"Ok" Brittany smiles.

"Anyway, are you ready to go back out?" Santana asks looking at Brittany.

"I am but you're not" Brittany smiles while fixing Santana's dress for her since it could do with being pulled up a bit at the front since it was a strapless one.

"Yeah right" Santana laughs it off. "There's nothing wrong with my dress, you just wanted to cop a feel of my boob."

"I wish that's what it was but it wasn't honey. It was getting a bit low at the front and one awful move would have your breasts bursting out" Brittany smiles. "I mean maybe you're ok with getting them out in front of our colleagues but I'm not. Those are for my eyes only" she says while leaning in to kiss Santana.

"Possessive much?" Santana laughs.

"That's not being possessive, that's just protecting what's rightfully mine" Brittany shrugs.

"Whatever you say now come on" Santana says while pulling Brittany to the door. "So what do you think of the party, did I do ok?" she asks nervously as they leave the office. She hopes Brittany thinks it's a success because she worked really hard on it.

"I think you've done a great job babe, this is probably the best party we've had here so far" Brittany smiles.

…

"So as usual I am keeping up the tradition of giving out awards. Now I would give you all an award because you're all hard workers and your support to the company is really appreciated but this is voted by everyone else and it's just something fun so don't be worried if you don't get anything" Brittany says.

"Brittany is right but let's not keep the suspense going for much longer" George says while picking up the first award. "This award is for best choreography so Brittany do you want to read out the winner?"

"Yes so the award for best choreography goes to…Katelyn" Brittany says while taking the award from George and handing it to Katelyn. "Well done" she says while hugging her.

"Ok and the next award is for best produced record so who does that go to Brittany?" George asks while handing the award to Brittany.

"Ok it goes to…Simon" she says before giving the award to Simon when he walks over to them. "Well done, Santana said you did really well on the latest album you were working on" she says while hugging him. Brittany and George then proceed to give out the next few awards.

"Ok this is the last award of the night" George tells everyone.

"Yes and it's for our most valuable team member" Brittany adds. "So without further ado the award goes too….Santana Lopez" she smiles at Santana.

"Really?" Santana asks surprised while walking over to Brittany.

"Well done" Brittany says while kissing Santana on the cheek and handing her the award. "You totally deserve it babe" she whispers.

"Thank you" Santana smiles before turning to everyone else. "I really had no idea about any of this but thank you all for voting for me, it really means a lot" she says honestly. "I also just want to thank you all for welcoming me to the company. I know I have been here for about 8 months now but I don't think I've really had the opportunity to thank you all properly so thank you."

"Ok everyone that concludes the awards but there's still plenty of time left so let's all have a few more drinks and enjoy the party" Brittany says and everyone gets back to partying.

"That was really nice of everyone to vote for me" Santana smiles. It's not like a major award or anything but it means a lot to Santana because it means the team are happy that she's here and they like her. It's not always easy settling into a new job but it's even harder when you're the boss so it really puts her mind at ease.

"I voted for you too but my opinion was kinda biased and I kinda got the awards mixed up and thought I was voting for sexiest female" Brittany jokes.

"Well either way, I'll take any kind of award you want to give me" Santana smiles.

* * *

"Monday morning again" Brittany says while yawning as she and Santana walk into their company.

"Are you tired honey?" Santana asks amused.

"I am and I blame you for that" Brittany states. "You kept me up all night last night because you were so damn horny" she teases.

"I'm sorry but seeing how much progress you're making in our relationship is sexy" Santana shrugs. "And before you say anything I'm not saying you weren't sexy to me before but the way you're committing to me makes me happy and when I'm happy I want sex."

"It's ok you don't need to explain, I got where you were coming from" Brittany smiles.

"Ok" Santana smiles back. "So what's up first for you today?" she asks.

"George and I are putting together some choreography for a new show" Brittany replies.

"Sounds cool, I don't have much on this morning so can I come and watch?" Santana asks.

"You can if you want but is that a good idea judging by your current state?" Brittany teases.

"What do you mean?" Santana frowns in confusion.

"You can't get enough of me and now you want to see me dance, I think that might be a risky situation" Brittany smirks.

"I suppose actually" Santana agrees.

"Wait…" Brittany says getting an idea.

"What?" Santana asks.

"Unless I get George to do some other work for me and you could help me choreograph" Brittany suggests. "I know you're an amazing singer Santana but you can also dance" she points out.

"That might be fun actually" Santana smiles. They do work a lot together but they're mostly doing paperwork and boring things like that when they do so this might be nice for them to do something different together.

"Ok well I can meet you in the studio in 5 minutes if you want to change first" Brittany says.

"Does my attire offend you?" Santana teases.

"No but I don't know how I'm supposed to lift you when you're wearing a short tight dress like that. Pants might be the better option until we get the moves nailed unless you want to show the world your butt" Brittany smirks.

"Ok I'll go and change, I'll be back in 5" Santana says before skipping off to her office. Once she's changed, she meets Brittany in the dance studio and they get started.

"Ok so in this lift, your leg needs to be here at about my waist" Brittany says while grabbing Santana's leg behind the knee.

"This is getting a little bit sexy, do you dance a lot like this with other people?" Santana asks.

"They're not just any random people babe, they're my dancers so it's natural for us all to dance like this" Brittany shrugs.

"Are any of the men gay?" Santana asks hopefully.

"Honey" Brittany can't help but laugh at how adorable Santana is right now. "Look you just need to trust me babe because I can assure you no one else interests me."

"I do trust you, I just don't trust them" Santana states. "And furthermore you didn't answer my question, are the men gay?"

"Babe I don't make a point of quizzing everyone on their sexuality but the dances aren't even that sexy anyway. This just seems it because you and I are a couple but honestly it's more hilarious and awkward than it is sexy" Brittany says honestly. There's a lot of falling over when they're trying to come up with the right moves.

"Ok" Santana nods.

"Hey and who knows, maybe I'm just making this particular dance sexier because I have you here and want to get sexy with you" Brittany winks.

"Ok" Santana smiles. After dancing for a while, they take a break and have some water before Santana decides she should probably make a start on some of her work.

"So I'll see you in the afternoon?" Brittany asks.

"Yeah. I need to do a couple of things but I'll definitely be there for the meeting at 1pm" Santana says.

"Ok see you soon" Brittany smiles and they walk off in different directions.

…

"Ok I have requested you all come here today for this meeting because I need to put the record straight about a few things. There has been a few rumours circulating around here recently and as much as I don't like discussing personal matters at work, I feel these need addressed" Brittany starts.

"Um…Brittany, can I have a word please. Outside" Santana interrupts while pulling Brittany outside.

"What's wrong, I'm about to have a meeting with everyone and I don't want to keep them back" Brittany says.

"What the hell are you doing?" Santana asks. She would love Brittany to tell everyone about them but she doesn't know if Brittany is really ready. She doesn't want her to do this just to prove to Santana she is serious about her.

"I think they need to know that Christian and I are no longer together" Brittany states.

"Wait…you weren't going to tell them about us?" she asks.

"Not exactly but if you want me to then I could" Brittany says nervously.

"No I don't think you're ready for that yet Britt" Santana shakes her head. "I don't want to push you into something you don't want to do" she says honestly.

"Come on, let's go back inside" Brittany smiles while giving Santana's hand a reassuring squeeze before letting go and walking back into the room.

"Ok" Santana says quickly following Brittany.

"Ok so I just want to make it clear that Christian and I are no longer together and we're in the middle of a divorce. I also want to say that from now on I'd like it if you addressed me as Miss Pierce and not Mrs Smith because I will be changing my name back to my maiden name" Brittany tells them all. "I mean of course you can still call me Brittany but if you need to use my surname then its Pierce and not Smith" she elaborates and everyone nods in understanding.

"So while we have you all here together, does anyone want to ask anything?" Santana asks.

"Yeah are there any other questions you would like to ask?" Brittany asks looking around the room.

"It's all over the internet that Santana is gay, is that true?" someone asks.

"Uh…yes it is" Santana laughs slightly taken aback. Ever since Santana started at the company, she has been in the public eye more so more people are aware of her and her private life. "I'm not going to deny my sexuality but at the same time I also don't make it a habit of sharing my private life at work. I am happy for you all to know that I am a lesbian although I'm not about to have daily discussions about the person I'm with" she tells them.

"Ok so does anyone else have any other questions?" Brittany asks.

"There's actually been rumours about you and Santana being together" someone else nervously points out.

"Who told you that" Santana asks defensively while standing up quickly.

"Santana, its ok I've got this" Brittany says while reassuringly placing her hand on her shoulder.

"You're not with Christian anymore so it is possible" George shrugs. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't sensed something going on.

"Yeah and you were also seen hand in hand walking into the building the other day and some people have also seen you kiss" one of Brittany's fellow dancers points out.

"Look…" Brittany sighs after taking a deep breath. "I have no say in what you all do outside of work or who you talk to so I could be taking a massive risk here but yes it's true. Santana and I are in a relationship" she admits.

"Brittany I thought…"

"It's ok Santana, it's probably for the best we tell them anyway" Brittany smiles at Santana to show her she's ok with this. "The truth is that we dated in the past when we met in high school and when Santana started here at the company past feelings came back and we reconnected again" she admits.

"When I took over from Jackson I had no idea it was Brittany I was going into business with because we hadn't spoken in 7 years but eventually like Brittany said we reconnected and now we're back together" Santana adds.

"Like I say I can't stop you from talking to people but I would appreciate some discretion until my divorce is finalised. I can assure you I did not cheat on Christian but we all know things can get twisted in the media so I'd hate for me to screw up the company if a false article came out" Brittany states.

"Ok so if you two are dating then does it mean that some of us can date now?" Steven asks.

"Do none of you even date already?" Santana asks surprised. They are lot of people who work there so she's surprised that there haven't been any relationships so far.

"We're not allowed to" Steven states.

"Who told you that?" Brittany asks confused. She never made up that rule so it's surprising to her as well.

"Jackson said that none of us could date each other and if we did then we could lose our jobs" Steven replies.

"Well I can assure you I don't live by that rule and neither does Santana, right?" Brittany asks looking over at Santana.

"No I'm happy for everyone to do as they please outside of work" Santana states. "As long as you all work hard here and nothing interferes with your job then I am happy for you to do whatever you want in your personal life" she says genuinely.

"Ok" Steven nods.

"So none of you really haven't ever dated in secret?" Santana asks looking at them all. They all just shake their heads. "Wow, I'm very surprised by that."

"Well you be surprised by that and I'll continue with the meeting" Brittany teases.

"Right, sorry" Santana smiles.


	15. High school reunion

Chapter 15: High school reunion

Santana is hard at work in her office when she looks at the time and realises it's almost lunch time and she hasn't even see Brittany today. It's not like they need to be joined at the hip or see each other all the time but they haven't spoken since last night which Santana finds strange. After work yesterday they went home separately but spoke via text later that night so since they physically haven't seen one another since yesterday then Santana thought Brittany would come and see her at some point. When Santana arrived at work she went to Brittany's office but couldn't find her so assumed she wasn't at work yet but she doesn't understand why she still wouldn't be just now so she's wondering if Brittany is here but just hasn't come to see her.

After another 5 minutes of working, Santana decides she wants to see if Brittany is at work or not so she saves what she was doing on the computer and is about to stand up when her door opens.

"Guess who is a free woman now" Brittany says while happily skipping into Santana's office.

"Uh…what?" Santana asks confused.

"Guess who is finally a free woman" Brittany replies while going over to the desk. She goes around to Santana's side and leans on it so she's facing Santana.

"It can't be you because I have you well and truly under my spell" Santana teases. "So who is it?" she asks.

"It is me because I am now officially single" Brittany brightly smiles.

"I beg your pardon?" Santana quirks her eyebrow.

"Ok so in legal terms I'm officially single now but of course you're still my girlfriend" Brittany says leaning in to take Santana's hand.

"What are you talking about babe?" Santana frowns in confusion.

"I'm officially divorced babe" Brittany smiles happily.

"Oh, I see" Santana says suddenly getting a lot happier. "So is that where you've been all morning?" she asks.

"Yeah I was with Chris, his lawyer and my lawyer" Brittany nods. "Everything is all sorted out now and by the end of the week it's all over" she says. She's signed everything now but it's going to take a few days to transfer the money to their bank accounts since they sold a few of the things they owned together.

"I feel like we should celebrate or something" Santana says. "Have you had lunch?" she asks.

"I haven't actually and I'm quite hungry so shall I get us sent something from downstairs and we can eat together here?" Brittany suggests.

"Sounds good" Santana smiles.

"Cool" Brittany nods. "I'll text George right now and ask him to get us something" she says while pulling out her phone. She quickly texts George before putting her phone away and giving Santana her attention.

"So while we're waiting on lunch, can I have your help with something?" Santana asks.

"Of course" Brittany replies while sliding off the desk. "What's up?"

"The computer system has been playing up this morning so I don't know what I'm meant to do. Do I call someone from IT or do I have a look myself. I was scared to click on too many things in case the computer crashed on me" Santana replies.

"I'll have a quick look if you want just now and if we can't fix it then I'll call someone from the IT department" Brittany says while moving behind Santana to look at the computer. She takes a hold of the mouse and starts clicking on a few things to troubleshoot the system.

"Is it working?" Santana asks impatiently.

"I've just started, have some patience honey" Brittany laughs.

"I'm sorry but I hate it when my computer starts playing up. My computer is one thing I cannot do without" Santana replies. Brittany is still trying to fix the computer when George walks into the room with lunch for her and Santana.

"You've barely been at work 10 minutes Brittany and you're already holding Santana's hand" George teases as he walks over to the desk.

"No I'm not" Brittany states embarrassed while quickly pulling her hand away which was on top of Santana's on the computer mouse.

"I'm only teasing, I can see you're doing something important" George states. "Anyway lunch is here so is there anything else you need just now or can I go back to sorting the studio schedule?" he asks.

"No that's fine" Brittany smiles. "I'll come and see you in a while to go over some stuff with you" she tells him.

"Ok, talk to you later" George smiles and then leaves the office.

"What the fuck was that Britt?" Santana questions.

"What?" Brittany frown in confusion.

"George was only teasing you and you couldn't have pulled your hand away quicker. I thought we were ok with everyone knowing about us" Santana says.

"I am ok with it but I don't want people to feel awkward whenever they walk into a room with just the two of us" Brittany replies honestly.

"It was just George Brittany" Santana points out. "Apart from me he is the closest person to you here so I very much doubt he felt awkward."

"Ok well I'm sorry" Brittany sighs. "Just because I opened up to everyone doesn't mean I feel 100% comfortable with everything now. It's going to take time Santana" she states.

"I know that but it wasn't exactly an outrageous thing you did. You only had your hand on top of mine on the mouse" Santana points out.

"And I was looking down your top" Brittany shrugs.

"No you don't get to make jokes right now to avoid the subject" Santana shakes her head. She knows it was a brave thing to do to tell everyone but they really weren't doing anything weird or embarrassing moments ago.

"Ok well like I said, I'm sorry" Brittany sighs while walking over to the door.

"Where are you going Brittany?" Santana asks annoyed as she thinks Brittany is about to leave right now without finishing what they were talking about.

"I'm just locking the door" Brittany says while locking the door and walking back over to the desk. "I know I have asked you to be patient with me but I just need you to be a little more until things settle down at work" she says. They only told everyone a few days ago so Brittany is still adjusting to everyone knowing about them.

"Ok" Santana nods. She's thinking she probably should just be grateful Brittany actually did tell everyone because that's a big step in itself anyway.

"The door is locked now so let's just have lunch together" Brittany says while pulling a chair up next to Santana before opening the food containers. They divide up the food before both beginning to eat together.

"So are you staying at work late tonight since you weren't in until later today?" Santana asks curiously.

"I hadn't actually planned on it" Brittany admits. "I'm sure I can spare a few hours off to see my lawyer so I think I'll just go home the same time as you" she replies.

"Ok" Santana smiles.

"Actually…" Brittany says while putting her food down and gently straddling Santana. "I'm having dinner with my parents tonight and I thought maybe you would like to come this week. You haven't seen them since we got together so I thought it might be nice."

"Oh" Santana says surprised. "I actually can't tonight babe" she says regrettably.

"Santana they are ok with us, I promise you" Brittany assures her.

"It's not that babe because I would love to have dinner with you and your parents" Santana replies. "It's just Quinn text me last night and she said she'd be in town today so I figured I might catch up with her."

"That's totally cool" Brittany smiles.

"She's actually going to be here tomorrow as well so why don't you come over and I'll cook for us all. You could actually invite Tina and Mike as well" Santana suggests.

"Oh I don't know about that" Brittany says nervously. Not only has she not seen Quinn since high school but from what Tina and Mike said, they aren't exactly on the best of terms with the others either.

"Why not babe?" Santana asks. She wants her friends and Brittany's friends to be on good terms and maybe they could all go back to being friends again.

"I just don't know if it'll be comfortable for us all" she admits. "It's been almost 9 years since we were last in the same room together. I know we were 16 and had just finished sophomore year and we're adults now but I still think it might be awkward" she says.

"We need to try and get to know one another again though because you and I are together now so I want our friends to be friends again" Santana admits.

"I do want that too in time but I don't know if it's too sudden right now" Brittany says.

"We're going to have to bite the bullet at some point babe so why not now and it saves us worrying about it for ages to come" Santana points out.

"Ok" Brittany sighs. "Let's do it then" she says.

"Cool" Santana smiles while leaning up to steal a quick kiss. "Wait why don't I see if Mercedes, Puck and Artie can all make it as well and it can be like a little reunion" she suggests.

"I don't know about that Santana" Brittany shakes her head. "Seeing Quinn is probably going to be enough for me, I don't want another 3 people there who hate me" she says nervously.

"They don't hate you Brittany" Santana says honestly.

"I just left without contacting them ever again. I think they might be pissed at me" Brittany points out.

"Babe I was pissed at you too but look at me now, I have sex with you and everything" Santana teases trying to lighten the mood.

"That's different because you eventually understood why I left but they won't get it because they don't know about us or anything like that" Brittany says.

"Honestly I think everything will be ok eventually. We just need to all get together and explain the situation" Santana replies. "We all had a really strong bond in high school and good friendships last through everything so it's going to work out" she says honestly. It is going to take time and it won't be easy, she knows that, but if they were all meant to be friends then it'll work out.

"Fine, ok" Brittany says giving in. She is really worried about it but like Santana said before, you might as well face your fear now than go on worrying.

* * *

Brittany and Santana are taking a break from work right now to decide on what they're cooking tonight for all their friends. They're going to leave work early to go to the grocery store to get their ingredients and then Brittany is going to help Santana cook.

"Ok so as soon as I'm done this afternoon I'll come and get you in your office and then we'll take my car to the grocery store and then to your place where I'll stay the night" Brittany says. "Once we're at the grocery store I'll grab the fruit and vegetables and you can grab the meat then we'll come together and get something for dessert. I think we should also get some appetizers for when they're all waiting on us serving dinner because it's going to get a little awkward I think so they might as well have something to do to fill the silences. Oh and another thing we should…why are you smirking at me?" she asks as she notices Santana staring at her and smirking.

"You're very sexy when you get all in the zone and stuff" Santana points out. "The way you're taking control of the situation is really hot" she says while walking over to Brittany and wrapping her arms around her neck.

"I just want everything to go as smoothly as possible tonight" Brittany says while placing her hands on Santana's hips.

"It will babe, don't worry" Santana assures her before leaning in to kiss her. As the kiss intensifies, Santana pulls Brittany with her as she moves backwards to her desk. She slides onto it never missing Brittany's lips and pulls her to stand in between her legs.

"What are we doing?" Brittany asks as she smiles into another kiss.

"What does it look like?" Santana smirks as she wraps her legs around Brittany's waist.

"Babe I don't think…"

"Sssshhh" Santana says kissing Brittany again as her hands drop to the hem of Brittany's shirt. Her hands linger there for a moment before she finally has the courage to be separated from Brittany's lips for one second to pull the shirt off. She then quickly removes her own shirt before pulling Brittany closer to her and kissing her. Her hands drop to Brittany's butt just as she feels Brittany pulling away.

"Wait a second" Brittany says pulling away regrettably.

"What's wrong?" Santana asks while stopping her movements.

"We can't do this here, it's not right" Brittany points out.

"Everyone is pretty much on lunch right now so we'll be ok. No one is going to walk in plus your blinds are shut and your door is locked" Santana states.

"It's not that" Brittany shakes her head.

"Babe we've told everyone about us and they all seem ok with it. In fact they all seem really great about it because it means they can date each other too if they want" Santana says.

"I know but it's not that; it's the fact we shouldn't be doing this kind of thing at work anyways. I had my reservations before and I still do now. We shouldn't confuse work with our relationship because at the end of the day we're the bosses around here so sometimes we might have different opinions but at home we're a couple" Brittany replies.

"You're not making any sense Britt" Santana says confused.

"I want us to differentiate being a couple and being colleagues. I want to keep work at work as far as I can so I don't want us to blur the lines too much" Brittany admits. She wants to have the chance to miss her girlfriend a little bit so that when she goes home at night it means something. She doesn't want to have a difference of opinion at work one day and for it to continue when they go home.

"Are you just saying this because you're getting nervous about tonight so you're overreacting to things?" Santana asks but the look Brittany gives her makes it clear that's not the case. "Ok it's not" she sighs.

"I just don't want to go to work expecting to see you all the time and get frustrated when I can't. I think we should be a little reserved at times so we can see a difference between work and our personal life" Brittany says honestly.

"Ok fine" Santana says. She can see the point Brittany is making and even though it doesn't really bother her that much she's willing to do it.

"I'll make it up to you tonight though, I promise" Brittany smiles while putting her shirt back on.

"Ok but remember I'm the boss outside of work so what I say goes" Santana teases.

"That's fine by me babe" Brittany smiles. "It's the least I can do when I'm laying down the law at work" she says honestly.

…

"So how are we doing in the kitchen?" Santana asks while walking into the kitchen and wrapping her arms around Brittany from behind.

"Ok I think" Brittany says nervously. She is terrified about tonight but she knows it means a lot to Santana so she's going ahead with it.

"It's going to be ok, I know it" Santana says while turning Brittany round to face her.

"You look nice by the way" Brittany points out as she takes in Santana's appearance for the first time since they got home from work.

"Thank you" Santana smiles. "I wanted to make an effort since we're having everyone over."

"Do I look presentable enough for tonight?" Brittany asks.

"You look great" Santana smiles just as there's a knock at the door. "I'll get that" she says before making her way to the door.

"We're not too early are we?" Tina says nervously.

"Of course not, in you come" Santana smiles and opens the door further to let Mike and Tina walk in. "Britt, it's Mike and Tina" she shouts through to the kitchen and then Brittany comes walking through.

"Hey guys" Brittany smiles before hugging Mike and Tina. She's relieved they're first here because she's already nervous enough about the others so having someone else on her side relaxes her a bit.

"Why don't you take them to the living room Britt and I'll start getting some drinks prepared" Santana says and Brittany nods before taking Mike and Tina to the living room. Two seconds later the door goes again and Santana answers it.

"Hi" Quinn brightly smiles.

"Hey in you come" Santana says while hugging Quinn once she walks in the door. "I'm just making some drinks in the kitchen so do you want to help me?" she asks.

"Sure" Quinn smiles. "Wow" she says shocked as she walks past the living room.

"What's wrong?" Santana asks in concern.

"I thought you were joking when you said Brittany, Tina and Mike would be here" Quinn says looking over at the three of them talking. "Does Artie, Mercedes and Puck know about this or do they think it's just you and I?" she asks.

"I said we were having a small high school reunion so they can take that whatever way they want" Santana replies. She knew they probably wouldn't come if she told them who was actually going to be here tonight so she had to withhold the truth slightly.

"They are going to flip when they find out Santana" Quinn shakes her head. She knows this isn't going to go well today.

"If they do then they do, I have to try this" Santana shrugs.

"Fine" Quinn sighs.

"So last night we forgot to talk about the Rebecca topic, what the hell was that?" Santana asks.

"You kept telling me how much you missed her so I figured it would be ok for her to come and visit you and see if maybe you could make a go of things" Quinn replies.

"Quinn I never said the name of the person I was talking about" Santana states.

"Yeah I know but it was obvious it was Rebecca" Quinn shrugs.

"It wasn't obvious Q because I wasn't talking about her. I was talking about someone else" Santana tells her.

"Oh…I'm…look I really thought it was Rebecca" Quinn says feeling bad.

"Well it wasn't Rebecca so I'd appreciate it if I tell you something in confidence then you keep it that way next time please" Santana states.

"I will keep it to myself" Quinn smiles.

"Good" Santana smiles back. "Look why don't we go to the living room and you can see Brittany, Mike and Tina before the others get here" she suggests.

"Fine" Quinn sighs. She really doesn't like this situation.

"Ok" Santana smiles and then she and Quinn take the drinks to the living room. "So…" she says nervously while looking around as no one talks.

"It's nice to see you again Quinn" Tina says finally breaking the silence. After Brittany left high school, Mike and Tina drifted apart from not only Santana but Quinn and the rest of the group as well because they didn't agree with the way the others talked about Brittany. They understood Santana was upset but they didn't like how things went on.

"Yeah you too I guess" Quinn sighs.

"Look Brittany and I wanted everyone here tonight because we want to clear the air somewhat and eventually maybe we could all get back to being friends again" Santana says honestly.

"Sophomore year was a long time ago Santana and I think we're all different now so I really don't think we can all be friends again" Quinn states.

"I believe we can make things work again, we just need to…" Santana is interrupted by a knock at the door. "That'll be the others, one second" she says while going to answer the door.

"Hey" Mercedes smiles while walking in with Artie and Puck closely following behind.

"Prepare yourself guys" Quinn states while turning up at the door to greet the others.

"What do you mean?" Artie frowns in confusion.

"Santana has three other guests here tonight that you might not want to have dinner with" Quinn states while looking at Santana.

"Stop being an ass Quinn" Santana says glaring at Quinn.

"What the hell is going on?" Puck asks since no one else is really telling them what's going on.

"Well you all know I work with Brittany now so I thought it would be nice to invite her, Tina and Mike to dinner as well" Santana says looking at them all.

"Are you out of your mind Santana?" Artie asks. "I mean maybe you can handle working with her and forgiving her or whatever but we don't want to be friends with her" he states.

"What happened in high school was for the best even though we didn't know it at the time" Santana says honestly. "We can't go around blaming each other" she says.

"You're right, we can't blame each other. We just blame Brittany" Puck states.

"Guys come on, let's try and sort things out. Just come to the living room and say hi and we'll go from there" Santana says. They all think for a moment before reluctantly following Santana into the living room.

"Well this is awkward" Brittany points out as all 8 of them just stand staring at each other.

"Why don't you all grab some drinks from the table and Brittany can help me in the kitchen" Santana says and then she and Brittany go the kitchen.

"What's the bets half of us won't make it past dinner?" Brittany jokes.

"Come on babe you have to think positive" Santana says while giving Brittany's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I love you for doing this Santana but I think you might be a little out of your depth here because there's no way your friends want to be my friend again" Brittany says.

"We need to at least try" Santana points out.

"I love you so much" Brittany says while wrapping her arms around Santana.

"I love you too" Santana smiles. "Dinner is actually ready so we should get everyone seated at the table now. I'll let them know if you want to start bringing the food out" she says.

"Ok cool" Brittany smiles back. Santana gets everyone seated and Brittany brings the food through before sitting down at the table next to Santana.

"Ok everyone just help yourselves" Santana says to them all. Everyone is a little reserved to begin with because it's all really awkward but Puck being Puck basically helped himself to a bit of food from each of the plates and began eating.

"Why aren't you all eating?" Puck asks with his mouth full of food.

"Because we couldn't get a hold of any of the spoons since you were basically taking everything at once" Quinn points out. "And would you quit talking with your mouth full, you're spraying crumbs on me" she shakes her head.

"Look there's plenty for everyone so just dig in" Santana smiles and the others begin putting some food onto their plates.

"When you said it would be a high school reunion, I didn't realise you meant Brittany would be here" Artie points out. "I mean she didn't even go to our high school in the end" he states.

"Yeah but she was still one of us" Santana states defensively.

"Look I knew this was a bad idea" Brittany sighs.

"No honey it's not" Santana shakes her head before gently squeezing Brittany's knee in reassurance.

"I think Santana is more than capable to make her own plate" Quinn snaps at Brittany as Brittany begins making a plate up for Santana.

"Yeah I know but…"

"But you thought hey this is like high school tonight so let me control Santana again like I always do" Quinn states glaring at Brittany.

"Quinn that's enough" Santana states. "I have my own mind so Brittany does not control me whatsoever and I like that she's making a plate for me" she says smiling at Brittany. It's become a bit of habit for them since they starting dating and Brittany just wants to take care of Santana and Santana likes that.

"Speaking of controlling, after Brittany left you were very full on with Santana" Tina points out.

"What would you know what I was like, you and Mike distanced yourselves from the rest of us the moment Brittany left so you have no right to comment" Quinn fires back.

"We only did that because you were all being a bitch about Brittany" Mike states.

"What did you expect after what she did" Artie states. "Santana you are out of your mind being friends with her after everything she did. She just left without a care in the world and you were heartbroken" he states.

"That's not true, I did care about what I did" Brittany shakes her head. "The reason I left is because I care and I couldn't stay and hurt Santana even more."

"It was one thing to hurt Santana but you also hurt a lot of other people" Mercedes points out. "Look none of us know the full story about what went down with you and Santana but you didn't even contact the rest of us except Mike and Tina."

"Mike and Tina were opened minded about it all, you all just hated me from the minute I left so I didn't think you'd want to be my friend anymore" Brittany says honestly. "Mike and Tina tried to be friends with everyone and actually cared about my feelings whereas you all just leapt onto the Santana train and didn't care about me."

"She was heartbroken Brittany" Quinn states.

"Yes so was I" Brittany states defensively. "Do you really think I wanted to go or hurt Santana?" she asks.

"I don't know, I mean it seemed relatively easy for you to leave" Quinn shrugs.

"I had to leave for both Santana and I otherwise things would have been way worse" Brittany tells them all.

"What are you talking about?" Mercedes asks confused. As far as she knows, something happened to change Brittany's mind and Brittany just left leaving Santana distraught.

"That's not important right now" Santana says jumping in. She doesn't know if Brittany would feel comfortable admitting to everyone about them since this is such an awkward time. "What is important is how we move on from here."

"I agree" Tina nods. "We've all got some issues with each other but surely if Brittany and Santana can be friends again then we all can build a few bridges" she points out.

"I mean I suppose you have a point" Mercedes says. She's been the most reasonable of Santana's friends so far tonight.

"I will never be friends with her again" Artie states.

"Me neither" Quinn agrees.

"Look I love Santana and I am going to continue to love her for the rest of my life. No one is going to stop me doing that so whether you like it or not I'm going to be in her life" Brittany states.

"We all love Santana but the difference is we don't mess her around like you do" Quinn states.

"No you don't love her like I do" Brittany shakes her head. "I am in love with her and she's my girlfriend now" she tells them all.

"Wait, what?" Mercedes asks confused.

"The reason I had to leave in high school is because Santana and I were together as a couple but we wanted different things and we needed time apart to grow" Brittany admits. "Our relationship would have gotten worst if I stayed around."

"Look I was a big part of this too. I wasn't so innocent in everything and I pushed Brittany so even though it hurt really bad when she left, it did give us time to figure out what we wanted as individuals" Santana says.

"So you suddenly think Brittany is different now?" Quinn questions. "The girl is married to a man right now, how can you trust her?" she asks.

"For your information I am divorced now, I just haven't announced it to the world" Brittany says.

"This doesn't make any sense because Brittany leaving and then getting married to a man however many years later clearly proves she had no interest in the two of you getting back together" Artie points out. "Why not just break up and stay where she was?" he asks.

"I was never meant to stay in the first place guys. My parents were always moving here and I was supposed to go with them but eventually they agreed with Santana's parents that I could stay with them until school finished" Brittany says. "Then I realised though that being away from my parents and living with Santana for 2 years would make things ten times harder. I was 16 and needed my parents and my relationship with Santana was getting worse so living with her would cause even more problems."

"Ok but that still doesn't fully make sense" Quinn states. "You still married a guy anyway so where you stayed makes no difference because you were obviously not committed to Santana and didn't want to get back together with her eventually."

"Hello, I'm with her now" Brittany states.

"Yeah and somehow that doesn't seem real" Quinn glares.

"I think what they're trying to say is the way things sound it seems like you had the intention of being with Santana once you sorted out some issues individually. Marrying someone else who also happened to be a man just seems like you've went back on your word so we're just confused" Mercedes tries to reason.

"Santana and I saw one another a year after I left and we realised things wouldn't work anymore so we both assumed that was it so we moved on" Brittany says. "The only reason we're here now is because working together made us re-evaluate our lives and see that we're meant to be together" she smiles at Santana.

"Look Brittany and Santana seem really happy together so if we all can't be friends then can we at least be happy for them?" Mike suggests.

"I can definitely do that" Mercedes smiles.

"Yeah and you both know I'm good with it too" Tina smiles at Brittany and Santana.

"Well I'm not" Quinn shakes her head.

"Yeah me neither" Artie states. "Too much is going to go wrong and it's just too risky."

…

Dinner is over now and everyone has went home. Apart from Mercedes, Tina and Mike being on board with everything, the others didn't seem to agree. Puck wasn't really too bothered either way but Artie and Quinn still have a problem with things. They don't mean to be awkward about the situation but they're just worried for Santana. They saw how bad things got in high school and they don't want that to happen again especially not now that Brittany and Santana work together.

"I know you're upset but the take away from tonight is that you have me and I'm not going anywhere. No matter what they say; I'm going to be with you forever" Santana smiles as she and Brittany tidy up from dinner.

"I'm definitely not giving up on us, I just didn't think it would be this bad. I knew it wasn't going to be easy but I assumed I was just nervous and overreacting but tonight was the worst night ever" Brittany says.

"You mean the world to me Brittany so no one is going to change that. If I can't be friends with Quinn or Artie again then I don't care" Santana admits.

"I don't want to come between you and your friends though" Brittany says. She would never forgive herself if Santana lost her friends because of her.

"You're the most important person to me, not them" Santana assures her.

"I don't want you to resent me in the future if they never come around to the idea of us. I'll be the reason your friends won't be your friends anymore" Brittany says.

"I will never resent you for anything Brittany because I know at the bottom of it all, I am your number one priority" Santana smiles. "Well I hope I am anyway but if I'm not yet then you better make sure I am soon."

"Yes you are the number one person in my life" Brittany smiles while leaning in to kiss Santana.

"Good" Santana smiles. "Hey what do you say we clear up tomorrow and just go to bed now" she winks before pulling Brittany with her to the bedroom.

"I guess I don't get a say in it" Brittany laughs.

"Your guess is correct" Santana says while shutting the door behind them and pinning Brittany against it. After kissing for a few moments, they walk over to the bed and begin undressing. Brittany crawls onto the bed and Santana follows, hovering over her. "You're so sexy, do you know that" she smiles down at Brittany.

"So are you?" Brittany replies blushing slightly.

"I'm going to rock your world right now" Santana teases before leaning down to kiss Brittany. She starts at her lips and makes her way to Brittany's neck and then collarbone.

"They really hate me don't they" Brittany says distractedly as Santana kisses down her body.

"Honey" Santana says stopping what she was doing. "I don't want you to think about them right now, this is us time ok?"

"Ok" Brittany sighs.

"Good" Santana smiles before going back to kissing Brittany. As she continues kissing her, she realises that Brittany really can't be into this because she hasn't responded to anything. I mean it's not like she's being conceited but Santana figures Brittany would at least let out a moan or even move slightly if she was aware of what Santana was doing. "Look if you're not into this then I'll just stop" she sighs while pulling away.

"I am into it" Brittany states.

"Then why have you barely moved in the last few minutes. You usually like it when I kiss you. I mean I kiss you on the lips sometimes and you even elicit a moan so why wouldn't you when I'm kissing particularly sensitive areas of your body?" she asks.

"I'm sorry babe" Brittany sighs. "You know that way where everything goes quiet and all you can do is think. Then when you think lots of random things go through your head?" she asks.

"Yeah I know" Santana says lying down next to Brittany.

"I just can't help but think I'm bringing you down all the time" Brittany admits. "I know you get pissed at me at work because I'm still somewhat hiding even though we've told everyone and I know it's killing you to be fighting with your friends."

"Brittany you were my first friend ever so no matter what happens you're going to be special to me. You're always going to be more important to anyone else anyway" she says. She knows her friends were there for her in high school but she also knows Brittany is what matters to her the most and it's always been that way. She loves her friends for how they helped her through but she also loves Brittany and she know why Brittany did what she did in high school.

"I just feel really bad" Brittany admits.

"You have to stop thinking about others babe and think about yourself for once" Santana tells her.

"I think I think about myself just enough babe" Brittany sighs. She feels her thinking about herself is really what caused a lot of this.

"Ok so maybe stop thinking about everyone except me and just focus on me" Santana smirks.

"Ok" Brittany laughs.

"Now am I getting your undivided attention right now or am I going to bed horny?" Santana asks.

"You're going to bed horny" Brittany smirks.

"Oh come on Brittany, that's not fair" Santana groans.

"I am only messing around babe" Brittany smiles. "Whatever you want you can get" she says leaning her head to the side to kiss Santana.

"Well I want you" Santana says while moving so she's hovering over Brittany.

"I want you too" Brittany says leaning up to bring Santana's lips closer to hers.


End file.
